THE 



MAETYR'S MONUMENT 



BEIKG THE 



PATRIOTISM AND POLITICAL WISDOM 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN, 

AS EXHIBITED IN HIS 

SPEECHES, MESSAGES, OEDEES, AND PEOCLAMATIONS, FEOM THE 
PKESIDENTIAL CANVASS OF 1S60 UNTIL HIS 

ASSASSINATION, APEIL 14, 1865. .--''-';:"r*" 



■ I have builded a monument more enduring than brass." — Horace. 




NEW YORK ; 
THE AMEKICAN NEWS COMPANY, 

119 & 121 NASSAU STKEET. 



fii 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1865, by 

THE AMERICAN NEWS COMPANY, 

In the Clerk's Office of tho District Court of the United States for the Southern 
District of New York. 



z 



^ 



t 4 3 




Stereotyped by Smith & M.oDoxtqai,, 82 & 84 Beekman Street. j 

\ i 



* ^ .N^A,; ^^..^ 



PREFATORY 



A FEW days after tlie assassination of Presi- 
dent Lincoln, tlie publishers of the present 
volume received the following letter from the dis- 
tinguished gentleman whose name it bears : 

Gentlemen : 

You have it in your power to erect a monument of its 
own kind to the memory of the President, who, but a 
few months ago, was elected by one of the greatest na- 
tional acts known in all history, and has now been taken 
off by foul assassination, as the chief representative of 
our national existence, and by an assassin who represents 
in this deed the ruthless evil aga,inst which we contend. 

Collect and pubHsh, in the speediest possible manner, 
the inaugural and other addresses of Abraham Lincoln, 
his proclamations, messages, and public letters ; indeed, 
all he has written as President, and you will contribute 
to the mournful celebrations of the American people 
your share of lasting value, and of far more impressive 
eloquence than the most fervent orator could utter. 



iv PEEFATORY. 

You would tlius make the martyr rear his own monu- 
ment, which no years, no centuries could level and cause 
to mingle again with the dust. Your obedient, 

Francis Liebee. 

New Tobk, April 18th, 1865. 

In accordance witli this suggestion the follow- 
ing pages have Ibeen prepared ; their object Ibeing 
to present in a convenient and easily accessible 
form, and with chronological arrangement, the 
writings of which. Dr. Lieber speaks with such 
well-merited admiration. But the editor has in- 
cluded in the collection somewhat more than all 
that Mr. Liistcoln wrote as President. The pith 
of his remarkable speech delivered at the Cooper 
Institute, in April, 1860, all of Ms speeches of any 
importance while he was President elect, and other 
expressions of his purposes and his convictions, 
not uttered exactly as President, will be found in 
the collection, which is well worth the thoughtful 
perusal of every citizen of the Republic, 



THE MARTYR'S MONUMENT. 



INTRODUCTORY. 

The memory of Abraham Lincoln is now fresh in 
the hearts of his countrymen. It is hardly a memory. 
The grass which we would keep ever green has not yet 
had time to spring upon his grave. But already we are 
taking measures to erect monuments which will preserve 
that memory, and show the honor in which we hold it to 
after generations. This is right, and proper, and becom- 
ing; but it is almost superfluous. The name and the 
fame of him who fell by an assassin's hand, a martyr to 
his devotion to his country, to the duties of his high 
office, a-nd to his conviction that •' if slavery is not wrong 
nothing is wrong," will endure without the help of stone 
or bronze. It was what he did that Avill make our dead 
President immortal; and his deeds will of necessity be 
recorded upon one of the grandest and most stirring 
pages of the world's history. But beside the record of 
his acts he left behind him in his spoken and written 
words, which were but the expression of the motives of 
his deeds, a monument more enduring than any, however 
splendid, that will ever be erected to him by wealth and 
taste inspired by gratitude. To present his character in 
these fitly and completely to his fellow citizens, that they 
may be enabled to see how wise and^ good he was, how 
entirely he was devoted to the cause of his country and 



2 THE martyr's monument. 

to freedom, and how skillfullj he performed one of the 
most difficult tasks that ever man was called upon to 
undertake, how bj forbearance and bj patient waiting, 
no less than bj vigorous and decided action when the 
time had come for action, he led a great nation through a 
crisis of unequaled peril, until he fell a victim in the 
very hour of its complete salvation, is the purpose of the 
following pages. 

This collection presents a complete view of Mr. Lin- 
coln's public life from the time when he was chosen as a 
candidate for the Presidency by those who were deter- 
mined that slavery should no longer be extended by the 
authority and under the flag of this Republic, until the 
very day when that flag was formally raised again upon 
Fort Sumter as a sign that the Republic was preserved 
in its integrity and Slavery was utterly destroyed, and 
when he, having accomplished his great mission, closed his 
labors and gave up his spirit. Of all his speeches, 
messages, proclamations, public letters, and orders during 
that eventful period, only such parts have been omitted 
as were of a merely formal and business character. All 
that displayed his patriotism, set forth his principles, or 
illustrated his personal character has been solicitously 
retained. We have here Abraham Lincoln's portrait 
painted, and his monument raised, by his own hands. 

THE great issue. 

Rarely, if ever, was the issue to be decided by a great 
war so simple and so clearly defined as in the case of 
that war of which Abraham Lincoln's election was the 
immediate occasion, and which his administration con- 



THE martyr's monument. 6 

ducted to so triumphant a close. That issue was whether 
the Government of the Republic known as the United 
States of America had the right, and the power, and the 
will to prevent the extension of negro-slaver j over the 
common territory and under the authority of the Union. 
That right was asserted, and the intention to exert it 
declared, by the party whose votes made Mr. Lincoln 
President. It was denied, and the purpose based upon 
it was denounced, not only by a large majority of the 
people of the Slave States but by a powerful minority 
in the Free States ; which majority and minority, work- 
ing together, had for many years directed the councils 
and swayed the power of the Government. Upon this 
issue Mr. Lincoln delivered an address at the Cooper 
Institute in New York on the evening of February 27, 
1860, at a time when he had no notion that he should 
ever be President. Senator Douglas, then the leader of 
the Free State minority above mentioned, had taken the 
position that the fathers of the Republic had denied the 
right of the Government to interfere with the question of 
slavery in the Territories or common landed possessions 
of the Union, adding, as a conclusive argument against 
such interference, that "our fathers when they framed 
the Government under which we live understood this 
question just as well and even better than we do now," 

This doctrine of Mr. Douglas Mr. Lincoln took as the 
subject of his address, and by careful historical research 
he brought to light the remarkable and pregnant fact 
that, with one or two exceptions, the fathers of the 
Republic, meaning those who took part in framing the 
Constitution and in establishing the Government, had, 
on every occasion of the consideration of the subject of 



4 THE MARTYR'S MONUMENT. 

slavery in the Territories, shown by their votes that in 
their judgment Congress had the constitutional right to 
exclude slavery from or admit it to tlie Territories, or to 
modify the form under which it should be admitted, or 
declare the conditions under which it should exist. Mr. 
Lincoln brought forward contemporary record of such 
action by the fathers of the Republic in 1784 and in 
1787, before the formation of the present constitution ; 
in 1789, in 1798, in 1804, and in 1820. Mr. Lincoln 
thus summed up the facts which he had brought to light. 

Here, then, we have twenty-tliree out of our thirty-nine 
fathers " who framed the Governinent under which we live,'^ 
who have, upon their oflQcial responsibility and their corporal 
oaths, acted upon the very question which the text affirms they 
" understood just as well, and even better than we do now ; " 
and twenty-one of them — a clear majority of the whole "thirty- 
nine " — so acting upon it as to make them guilty of gross polit- 
ical impropriety and wilful peijury, if, in their understanding, 
any proper di\ision between local and federal authority, or 
anything in the Constitution they had made themselves, and 
sworn to support, forbade the Federal Government to control 
as to slavery in the federal territories. Thus the twenty-one 
acted ; and, as actions speak louder than words, so actions, 
under such responsibility, speak still louder. 

******** 

The sum of the whole is, that of our thirty-nine fathers who 
framed the original Constitution, twenty-one — a clear majority 
of the whole — certainly understood that no proper division of 
local from federal authority, nor any part of the Constitution, 
forbade the Federal Government to control slavery in the federal 
territories ; while all the rest probably had the same under- 
standing. Such, unquestionably, was the understanding of 
our fathers who framed the original Constitution ; and the text 
affirms that they understood the question " better than we." 

It is surely safe to assume that the thirty-nine framers of the 
original Constitution, and the seventy-six members of the Con- 



THE martyr's monument. 6 

gress wliicli framed the amendments thereto, taken together, do 
certainly include those who may be fairly called " our fathers 
who framed the Government under which we live." And, 
so assuming, I defy any man to show that any one of them ever, 
in his whole life, declared that, in his understanding, any proper 
di^■ision of local from federal authoiity, or any part of the Con- 
stitution, forbade the Federal Government to control as to 
slavery in the federal territories. I go a step further. I defy 
any one to show that any li^dng man in the whole world ever 
did, prior to the beginning of the present century, (and I might 
almost say prior to the beginning of the last half of the present 
century,) declare that, in his understanding, any proper division 
of local from federal authority, or any part of the Constitution, 
forbade the Federal Government to control as to slavery in the 
federal territories. To those who now so declare, I give, not 
only " our fathers who framed the Government under which we 
live," but with them all other living men within the century in 
which it was framed, among whom to search, and they shall not 
be able to find the evidence of a single man agreeing with them. 

In this speech Mr. Lincoln set forth, in a very note- 
worthy manner, his appreciation of the relative positions 
of the Free and the Slave States upon the great question 
then agitating the country. After saying that the Re- 
publican party only asked that slavery should be marked 
as " the fathers" marked it, " as an evil not to be extended, 
but to be tolerated and protected only because of, and so 
far as, its actual presence among us makes that toleration 
and protection a necessity: — let," he continued, '^all 
the guaranties those fathers gave it, be, not grudgingly, 
but fully and fairly maintained." Then, addressing him- 
self to the propagandists of slavery, he said as follows : 

And now, if they would listen — as I suppose they will not — 
I would address a few words to the Southern people. 

I would say to them : — You consider yourselves a reasonable 
and a just people ; and I consider that in the general qualities 



6 THE martyr's monument. 

of reason and justice you are not inferior to any other people. 
Still, wlien you speak of us Republicans, you do so only to de- 
nounce U3 as reptiles, or, at tlie best, as no better than outlaws. 
You will grant a heaidng to pirates or murderers, but nothing 
like it to " Black Republicans." In all your contentions with 
one another, each of you deems an unconditional condemnation 
of " Black Republicanism" as the first thing to be attended to. 
Indeed, such condenmation of us seems to be an indispensable 
prerequisite — license, so to speak — among you to be admitted 
or permitted to sj)eak at all. Now, can you, or not, be prevailed 
upon to pause and to consider whether this is quite just to us, or 
even to yourselves ? Bring forward your charges and specifica- 
tions, and then be patient long enough to hear us deny or justify. 
You say we are sectional. We deny it. That makes an issue ; 
and the burden of proof is upon you. You produce your proof; 
and what is it ? Why, that our party has no existence in your 
section — gets no votes in your section. The fact is substantially 
true ; but does it prove the issue ? If it does, then in case we 
should, without change of principle, begin to get votes in your 
section, we should thereby cease to be sectional. You cannot 
escape this conclusion ; and yet, are you willing to abide by it ? 
If you are, you will j^robably soon find that we have ceased to 
be sectional, for we shall get votes in your section this very 
year. You will then begin to discover, as- the truth plainly is, 
that your proof does not touch the issue. The fact that we get 
no votes in your section, is a fact of your making, and not of 
ours. And if there be fault in that fact, that fault is primarily 
yours, and remains so until you show that we repel you by some 
wrong principle or practice. If we do repel you by any wrong 
princii)le or practice, the fault is ours ; but this biings you to 
where you ought to have started — to a discussion of the right 
or wrong of our principle. If our principle, put in practice, 
would wrong your section for the benefit of ours, or for any 
other object, then our principle, and we with it, are sectional, 
and are justly opposed and denounced as such. Meet us, then, 
on the question of whether our principle, put in practice, would 
wrong your section ; and so meet us as if it were possible that 
something may be said on our side. Do you accept the chal- 



THE MARTYR'S MONUMENT. 7 

lenge ? No ! Then you really believe that the principle which 
" our fathers who framed the Government under which we live" 
thought so clearly right as to adopt it, and indorse it again and 
again, upon their official oaths, is in fact so clearly wrong as to 
demand your condemnation without a moment's consideration. 

Some of you d Jight to flaunt in our faces the warning against 
sectional parties given by Washington in his Farewell Address. 
Less than eight years before Washington gave that warning, he 
had, as President of the United States, approved and signed an 
act of Congress, enforcing the prohibition of slavery in the 
Northwestern Territory, which act embodied the policy of the 
Government upon that subject up tc«and at the very moment 
he penned that warning ; and about one year after he penned 
it, he wrote La Fayette that he considered that prohibition a 
wise measure, expressing in the same connection his hope that 
we should at some time have a confederacy of free States. 

Bearing this in mind, and seeing that sectionalism has since 
arisen upon this same subject, is that warning a weapon in your 
hands against us, or in our hands against you ? Could Wash- 
ington himself speak, would he cast the blame of that section- 
alism upon us, who sustain his policy, or upon you who repu- 
diate it? We respect that warning of Washington, and we 
commend it to you, together with his example pointing to the 
right application of it. 

Of emancipation and of such efforts as that of John 
Brown, Mr. Lincoln expressed these views : 

Li the language of Mr, Jefferson, uttered many years ago, "It 
is still in our power to direct the process of emancipation, and 
deportation, peaceably, and in such slow degrees, as that the 
evil will wear off insensibly ; and their [the negroes'] places be, 
pari passu, filled up by free white laborers. If, on the contrary, 
it is left to force itself on, human nature must shudder at the 
prospect held uj^." 

Mr. Jefferson did not mean to say, nor do I, that the power 
of emancipation is in the Federal Government. He spoke of 
Virginia ; and, as to the power of emancipation, I speak of the 
Blave-holding Stites only. The Federal Government, however, 



8 THE martyr's monument. 

as we insist, has the j^ower of restraining the extension of the 
institution — the power to insure that a slave insurrection shall 
never occur on any American soil which is now free from slavery. 
John Brown's effort was peculiar. It was not a slave insur- 
rection. It was an attempt by white men to get up a revolt 
among slaves, in which the slaves refused to participate. In 
fact, it was so absurd, that the slaves, with all their ignorance, 
saw plainly enough it could not succeed. That affair, in its 
philosophy, corresponds with the many attempts, related in 
history, at the assassination of kings and emperors. An enthu- 
siast broods over the 023pression of a people till he fancies him- 
self commissioned by Heaven to liberate them. He ventures 
the attempt, which ends in little else than his own execution. 
Orsini's attempt on Louis Napoleon, and John Brown's attempt 
at Hai-per's Ferry were, in their philosophy, precisely the same. 
The eagerness to cast blame on old England in the one case, and 
on New England in the other, does not disprove the sameness 
of the two things.' 

Mr. Lincoln closed his discourse by the following pas- 
sage which he addressed specially to the opponents of the 
extension of slavery, i. e., in his words, the Republicans, 
although there were many who united with him in that op- 
position and in these views as to its nature, its right, and 
its necessity, who had not acted with the Republican party. 

A few words now to Republicans. It is exceedingly desirable 
that all j)arts of this great Confederacy shall be at peace, and 
in harmony, one with another. Let us Republicans do our 
part to have it so. Even though much provoked, let us do 
nothing through passion and ill-temper. Even though the 
Southern people will not so much as listen to us, let us calmly 
consider their demands, and yield to them if, in our deliberate 
view of our duty, we possibly can. Judging by all they say 
and do, and by the subject and nature of their controversy with 
us, let us determine, if we can, what will satisfy them. 

Will they be satisfied if the Territories be unconditionally 
surrendered to them ? We know they will not. In all their 



THE martyr's monument. 9 

present complaints against us, tlie Territories are scarcely men- 
tioned. Invasions and insurrections are the rage now. Will it 
satisfy tliem, if, in the future, we have nothing to do with in- 
vasions and insurrections ? We know it T\all not. We so know, 
because we know we never had anything to do with invasions 
and insurrections ; and yet this total abstaining does not exempt 
us from the charge and the denunciation. * * * * 

In all our platforms and speeches we have constantly pro- 
tested our purpose to let them alone; but this has had no 
tendency to convince them. Alike unavailing to convince them, 
is the fact that they have never detected a man of us in any 
attempt to disturb them. 

These natural, and apparently adequate means all failing, 
what will convince them ? This, and this only , cease to call 
slavery wrong ^ and join them in calling it riglit. And this must 
be done thoroughly — done in acts as well as in words. Silence 
will not be tolerated — we must place ourselves avowedly with 
them. Senator Douglas's new sedition law must be enacted 
and enforced, suppressing all declarations that slavery is wrong, 
whether made in politics, in presses, in pulj)its, or in private. 
We must arrest and return their fugitive slaves with greedy 
pleasure. We must pull down our Free State constitutions. 
The whole atmosphere must be disinfected from all taint of 
opposition to slavery, before they will cease to believe that all 
their troubles proceed from us, ***** * 

Nor can we justifiably withhold this, on any ground save our 
conviction that slavery is wrong. If slavery is right, all words, 
acts, laws, and constitutions against it, are themselves wrong, 
and should be silenced, and swept away. If it is light, we 
cannot justly object to its nationality — its universality; if it is 
wrong, they cannot justly insist upon its extension — its enlarge- 
ment. All they ask, we could readily grant, if we thought 
slavery right ; all we ask, they could as readily grant, if they 
thought it wrong. Their thinking it right, and our thinking it 
wrong, is the j^recise fact upon which depends the whole con- 
troversy. Thinking it right, as they do, they are not to blame 
for desiring its full recogTiition, as being right ; but, thinking it 
wrong, as we do, can we yield to them ? Can we cast our vote« 



10 THE martyr's monument. 

with their view, and against our own ? In view of our moral, 
social, and political responsibilities, can we do this ? 

Wrong as we think slavery is, we can yet afford to let it alone 
where it is, because that much is <iue to the necessity arising 
from its actual presence in the nation ; but can we,while our votes 
will prevent it, allow it to spread into the National Territories, 
and to overrun us here in these Free States ? If our sense of 
duty forbids this, then let us stand by our duty, fearlessly 
and effectively. Let us be diverted by none of those sophisti- 
cal contrivances wherewith we are so industriously plied and 
belabored — contrivances such as groping for some middle ground 
between the right and the wrong, vain as the search for a man who 
should be neither a living man nor a dead man — such as a 
policy of " don't care " on a question about which all true men 
do care — such as Union appeals beseeching true Union men to 
yield to Disunionists, reversing the divine rule, and calling, not 
the sinners, but the righteous to reiDcntance — such as invoca- 
tions to Washington, imploring men to unsay what Washington 
said, and undo what Washington did. 

Neither let us be slandered from our duty by false accusa- 
tions against us, nor frightened from it by menaces of destruc- 
tion to the Government nor of dungeons to ourselves. Let us 
have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to 
the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it. 

Thus clearly, fairly and with eminent kindness and 
consideration towards the slave-holders did Mr. Lincoln 
set forth the Great Issue which he was afterwards called 
upon to try before the world. But previously he had ex- 
pressed more tersely and almost epigramatically his judg- 
ment as to the future of this country in regard to this sub- 
ject. When Mr. Lincoln was nominated to the Senate 
of the United States, in 1858, he made a speech, in the 
opening passage of which were these memorable words : 

"A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this 
Government cannot endure permanently half slave and half 
free. I do not expect the union to be dissolved — I do not 



THE MARTYR'S MONUMENT. 11 

expect the house to fall, but I do expect it will cease to be 
divided. It will become all one thing or all the other." 

Surelj political sagacity and foresight were never more 
manifest than in this prediction. It has been verified by 
subsequent events to the letter. The slaveholders were 
determined that the Government should be all "slave." 
During the years which immediately preceded the 
attempted secession, they thought that they were rapidly 
bringing about the end which they so much desired ; and 
there is no reasonable doubt that at first secession itself 
jvas but a new and rough method adopted by them to accom- 
plish this same purpose ;^that they believed that after 
they had shown their ability to defy and resist the Gov- 
ernment and establish the principle of State Sovereignty, 
they could reconstruct the Union on a basis which would 
enable them to carry slavery into the Territories, and 
their slaves into any State of their reconstructed Union. 
They were rudely undeceived, and the man who, next to 
themselves, was the chief instrument of their destruction, 
was he who only six years before had told them that they 
must succeed entirely or fail utterly, that the Government 
could not endure half slave and half free, and that the 
Union would not be dissolved. 

NOMINATION TO THE PRESIDENCY. 

Mr. Lincoln, unexpectedly to himself and to the 
country, was nominated to the Presidency by the conven- 
tion of 1860, at Chicago. To the announcement of this 
fact made by a committee, he made the following reply : 

" Mr. CMirnian and Gentlemen of the Committee — I tender to 
you, and through you to the Republican National Convention, 



12 THE martyr's monument. 

and all tlie people represented in it, my profoundest thanks for 
the high honor done me, which you now formally announce. 
Deeply, and even painfully sensible of the great responsibility 
which is inseparable from this high honor — a responsibility 
which I could almost wish had fallen upon some one of the far 
more eminent men and experienced statesmen whose distin- 
guished names were before the Convention, I shall, by your 
leave, consider more fully the resolutions of the Convention, 
denominated the platform, and without any unnecessary or 
um'easonable delay, respond to you, Mr. Chairman, in writing, 
not doubting that the platform will be found satisfactory, and 
the nomination gratefully accepted. 

" And now I will not longer defer the pleasure of taking 
you, and each of you, by the hand." 

The response in writing to which he referred, was soon 
after received in the following words : 

Springfielb, Illixois, May, 1S60. 

Sir — I accept the nomination tendered to me by the Conven- 
tion over which you presided, of which I am formally ajDprized 
in a letter of yourself and others acting as a Committee of the 
Convention for that pui*pose. The declaration of principles 
and sentiments which accompanies your letter meets my ap- 
proval, and it shall be my care not to violate it, or disregard it 
in any part. Imploring the assistance of Divine Providence, 
and with due regard to the views and feelings of all who were 
represented in the Convention, to the rights of all the States 
and Territories and people of the nation, to the inviolability of 
the Constitution, and the perpetual union, harmony, and pros- 
perity of all, I am most happy to co-operate for the practical 
success of the principles declared by the Convention. 

Your obliging friend and fellow-citizen, 
Abraham Lincoln. 

Hon. Gjeoege Ashmun, 

President of the Republican Convention. 

These were almost mere formalities. Yet their tone 
indicated the character of the man. The short speech 
was uttered in a tone and with a manner full of dignity, 



THE MAETYR'S monument. 13 

and with an expression of a sense of responsibility which 
almost amounted to sadness. And in both speech and 
letter there appears that mingling of firmness and self- 
distrust, that determination and that reliance upon a 
higher powder which marked Mr. Lincoln's words and 
conduct throughout his public life. When, after his 
election, the time had arrived for him to leave his quiet 
home for the capital of his distracted country, he ad- 
dressed his friends and neighbors in the following few 
brief sentences. But few and brief although they are, 
how fully they express a just and large appreciation of 
the crisis in which he was called to poAver, how imbued 
they are with the man's tenderness, and the statesman's 
trust in God ! 

PARTING SPEECH AT ILLINOIS, FEB. 11th, 1860. 

3fy Friends — No one, not in my position, can appreciate the 
sadness I feel at this parting. To this people I owe all that I 
am. Here I have lived more than a quarter of a century ; here 
my children were born, and here one of them lies buried. I 
know not how soon I shall see you again. A duty devolves 
upon me, which is, perhaps, greater than that which has 
devolved upon any other man since the days of Washington. 
He never would have succeeded except for the aid of Divine 
Providence, upon which he at all times relied. I feel that I 
cannot succeed without the same Divine aid which sustained 
him, and on the same Almighty Being I place my reliance for 
support, and I hope you, my friends, vdW all pray that I may 
receive that Divine assistance, without which I cannot succeed, 
but with which, success is certain. Again I bid you all an 
affectionate farewell. 

His journey to Washington was a progress like that 
of a monarch in olden time — he, that simple, unassuming, 
almost rude frontiersman and village lawyer. He was 



V 



14 THE martyr's monument. 

met at every station -by throngs of people eager to cheer 
and encourage him, and to hear a word of cheer and 
encouragement in return. In what he said he of course 
repeate d himself often, and on some occasions he merely 
uttered a kindly sentence or two, which was cut short 
by the impatient shriek of the railway engine. The 
following are all the speeches made by him upon his 
journey, to which the above remarks do not apply : 

SPEECHES AT INDIANAPOLIS. 

0(yD. Morton and Felloic- Citizens of the State of Indiana — Most 
heartily do I thank you for this magnificent reception, and while 
I cannot take to myself any share of the compliment thus paid, 
more than that which pertains to a mere instrument, an acciden- 
tal instrument, perhaps I should say, of a great cause, I yet 
must look upon it as a most magnificent reception, and as such, 
most heartily do thank you for it. You have been pleased to 
address yourself to me chiefly in behalf of this glorious Union 
in which we live, in all of which you have my hearty sympathy, 
and, as far as may be within my power, will have, one and 
inseparably, my hearty consideration ; while I do not expect 
upon this occasion, or until I get to Washington, to attempt 
any lengthy speech, I will only say. To the salvation of the 
Union there needs but one single thing, the hearts of a people 
like yours. [Applause.] 

The people, when they rise in mass in behalf of the Union 
and the liberties of their country, truly may it be said, " The 
gates of hell cannot prevail against them." [Renewed ap- 
plause.] In all trying positions in which I shall be placed, and, 
doubtless I shall be placed in many such, my reliance will be 
placed upon you and the people of the United States ; and I 
wish you to remember, now and forever, that it is your business, 
and not mine ; that if the union of these States, and the liber- 
ties of this people shall be lost, it is but little to any one man 
of fifty-two years of age, but a great deal to the thirty millions 
of people who inhabit these United States, and to their poster- 



THE martyr's monument. . 15 

ity in all coming time. It is your business to rise up and pre- 
serve the Union and liberty for yourselves, and not for me. 

I desire they should be constitutionally performed. I, as 
already intimated, am but an accidental instrument, temporary, 
and to serve but for a limited time, and I appeal to you again 
to constantly bear in mind that mth you, and not with politi- 
cians, not with Presidents, not with office-seekers, but with you, 
is the question, Shall the Union and shall the liberties of this 
country be preserved to the latest generations ? [Cheers.] 

The above speech was delivered in front of the Bates 
House, at Indianapolis, to a promiscuous assemblage, 
among which appeared the governor and members of both 
houses of the State Legislature. That which follows was 
made at the same hotel in the evening, in response to a 
formal welcome from the Legislature. 

FelloiD- Citizens of the State of Indiana — I am here to thank 
you much for this magnificent welcome, and still more for the gen- 
erous support given by your State to that political cause which I 
think is the true and just cause of the whole country and the 
whole world. 

Solomon says, there is " a time to keep silence," and when men 
wrangle by the mouth with no certainty that they mean the 
same thing, while using the same word, it perhaps were as well 
if they would keep silence. 

The words "coercion" and "invasion" are much used in these 
days, and often with some temper and hot blood. Let us make 
sure, if we can, that we do not misunderstand the meaning of 
those who use them. Let us get exact definitions of these 
words, not from dictionaries, but from the men themselves, who 
certainly depreciate the tJdngs they would represent by the use 
of words. What, then, is " Coercion ?" What is " Invasion ?" 
AYould the marching of an army into South Carolina without 
the consent of her people, and with hostile intent towards 
them, be " invasion ?" I certainly think it would ; and it would 
be " coercion" also if the South Carolinians were forced to 
submit. But if the United States should merely hold and 



16 THE martyr's monument. 

retake its own forts and other proiDerty, and collect the duties 
on foreign importations, or even withhold the mails from places 
where they were habitually violated, would any or all these 
things be "invasion" or "coercion?" Do our professed lovers 
of the Union, but who spitefully resolve that they will resist 
coercion and invasion, understand that such things as these, on 
the part of the United States, would be coercion or invasion o*f 
a State ? If so, their ideas of means to preserve the object of 
their affection would seem exceedingly thin and airy. If sick, 
the little pills of the homoeopathists would be too large for it to 
swallow. In their view, the Union, as a family relation, would 
seem to be no regular marriage, but a sort of " free love" 
arrangement, to be maintained only on " jDassional attraction." 

By the way, in what consists the special sacrednessof a State? 
I speak not of the position assigned to a State in the Union, by 
the Constitution ; for that, by the bond, we all recognize. That 
position, however, a State cannot carry out of the Udiou with 
it. I speak of that assumed primary right of a State to rule all 
which is less than itself and ruin all which is larger tlian itself. 
If a State and a county in a given case, should bf' equal in 
extent of territory, and equal in number of inhabitants, in what^ 
as a matter of principle, is the State better than th<^ county ? 
AVould an exchange of names be an exchange of HgMs upon 
pi-inciple ? On what rightful principle may a State, being not 
more than one-fiftieth part of the nation, in soil and popula- 
tion, break up the nation, and then coerce a proportionally 
larger subdivision of itself, in the most arbitrary way ? What 
mysterious right to play tyrant is conferred on a district of 
country, with its people, by merely calling it a State ? 
.Fellow-citizens, I am not asserting anything; I am merely 
asking questions for you to consider. And now allow me to 
bid you farewell. 

SPEECH AT CINCINNATI. 

Mr. Mayor and Fellow- Citizens — I have spoken but once be- 
fore this in Cincinnati. That was a year previous to the late 
Presidential election. On that occasion, in a playful manner, but 
with sincere words, I addressed much of what I said to the Ken- 



17 



tuckians. I gave my opinion that we, as Eepublicans, would 
ultimately beat them, as Democrats, but that they could postpone 
that result longer by nominating Senator Douglas for the Presi- 
dency than they could in any other way. They did not, in any true 
sense of the word, nominate Mr, Douglas, and the result has come 
certainly as soon as ever I expected. I also told them how I 
expected they would be treated after they should have been 
beaten ; and I now wish to call their attention to what I then 
said upon that subject. I then said, " When we do as we say, 
beat you, you perhaps want to know what we will do T\dth you. 
I will tell you, as far as I am authoiized to speak for the oppo- 
sition, what we mean to do with you. We mean to treat you 
as near as we possibly can, as Washington, Jefferson, and Mad 
ison treated you. We mean to leave you alone, rmd in no way 
to interfere with your institutions ; to abide by all and every 
compromise of the Constitution ; and, in a word, coming back 
to the original proposition, to treat you, so far as degenerate 
men, if we have degenerated, may, according to the example of 
those noble fathers, Washington, Jefferson and Madison. 
We mean to remember that you are as good as we ; that there 
is no difference between us, other than the difference of circum- 
stances. We mean to recognize and bear in mind always that 
you have as good hearts in your bosoms as any people, or as 
we claim to have, and treat you accordingly. 

Fellow-citizens of Kentucky ! friends ! brethren, may I call 
you in my new position ? I see no occasion, and feel no incli- 
nation to retract a word of this. If it shall not be made good, 
be assured the fault shall not be mine. 

SPEECH AT COLUMBUS. 

Mr. President ami Mr. Speaker^ and Oentlemen of iJie General 
Assernbly — It is true, as has been said by the President of the 
Senate, that very great responsibility rests upon me in the po- 
sition to which the votes of the American peoj)le have called 
me. I am deeply sensible of that weighty responsibility. I 
cannot but know "what you all know, that without a name, per- 
haps without a reason why I should have a name, there has 
fallen upon me a task such as did not rest even upon the Pathei 



18 



of his country, and so feeling I cannot but turn and look for 
the support without which it will be impossible for me to per- 
form that great task. I turn, then, and look to the great Amer- 
ican people, and to that God who has never forsaken them. 

Allusion has been made to the interest felt in relation to the 
policy of the new administration. In this I have received from 
some a degree of credit for having kept silence, and from oth- 
ers some def)reciation. I still think I was right. In the varying 
and repeatedly shifting scenes of the present, and without a 
precedent which could enable me to judge by the past, it has 
seemed fitting that before speaking upon the difficulties of the 
country, I should have gained a view of the whole field so as 
to be sure after all — at liberty to modify and change the course 
of policy as future events may make a change necessary. I 
have not maintained silence from any want of real anxiety. It 
is a good thing that there is no more than anxiety, for there is 
nothing going wrong. It is a consoling circumstance that when 
we look out, there is nothing that really hurts anybody. We 
entertain different views upon political questions, but nobody 
is suffering anything. This is a most consoling circumstance, 
and from it we may conclude that all we want is time, patience, 
and a reliance on that God who has never forsaken this people. 
Fellow-citizens, what I have said I have said altogether extem- 
poraneously, and will now come to a close. 

This speech is strongly marked bj that peculiar and, 
as it proved, very wise trait of Mr. Lincoln's policy in 
the early part of his administration, although it subjected 
liim at first to reproach, and to charges on the one side 
of lukewarmness, and on the other of levity — a watchful 
consideration of the course of events, and the tone of the 
public mind; a determination not to attempt the imprac- 
ticable, and not to be too far in advance of the general 
public sentiment. 

SPEECH AT STEUBENVILLE. 

I fear that the great confidence placed in my ability is un- 
founded. Indeed, I am sure it is. Encompassed by vast diffi- 



19 



culties as I am, nothing shall be wanting on my part, if 
sustained by the American people and God. I believe the 
devotion to the Constitution is equally great on both sides of 
the river. It is only the different understanding of that instru- 
ment that causes difficulty. The only dispute on both sides is 
" AYhat are their rights ?" If the majority should not rule, who 
should be the judge ? Where is such a judge to be found ? 
We should all be bound by the majority of the American peo- 
ple — if not, then the minority must control. Would that be 
right? Would it be just or generous? Assuredly not. I reit- 
erate that the majority should rule. If I adopt a wrong policy, 
the opjDortunity for condemnation wiU occur in four years' 
time. Then I can be turned out, and a better man with better 
views put in my place. 

But he was not turned out. The heathen raged, and 
some of the people imagined a vain thing, yet in the 
midst of this fearful conflict, with such an approach to 
unanimity as has not been seen since the days of Wash- 
ington or Jackson, his fellow-citizens declared that a bet- 
ter man with better views could not be found for the 
emergency. 

EXTRACT FROM MR. LINCOLN'S SPEECH AT PITTSBURG. 

It is often said that the tariff is the specialty of Pennsylvania. 
Assuming that direct taxation is not to be adopted, the Tariff 
question must be as durable as the Government itself. It is a 
question of national housekeeping. It is to the Government 
what replenishing the meal-tub is to the family. Every varying 
circumstance will require frequent modifications as to the 
amount needed, and the sources of supply. So far there is 
little difference of ojjinion among the people. It is only wheth- 
er, and how far, the duties on imports shall be adjusted to favor 
home productions. In the home market that controversy 
begins. One party insists that too much protection oppresses 
one class for the advantage of another, while the other party 



20 THE martyr's monument. 

argues that, -with all its incidents, in the long run, all classes are 
benefited. In the Chicago Platform there is a plank upon this 
subject, which should be a general law to the incoming Admin- 
istration. We should do neither more nor less than we gave the 
people reason to believe we would when they gave us their votes. 
That plank is as I now read : 

Mr. Lincoln's private secretary then read section twelfth of 
the Chicago Platform, as follows : 

" That while providing revenue for the support of the Gen- 
eral Government, by duties upon imports, sound policy requires 
such an adjustment of these duties upon imports as will en- 
courage the development of the industrial interest of the whole 
countiy ; and we commend that policy of national exchanges 
which secures to working-men liberal wages — to agriculture 
remunerating jDrices — to mechanics and manufacturers adequate 
reward for their skill, labor, and enterprise ; and to the nation 
commercial iDrosperity and independence." 

Mr. Lincoln resumed: As with all general ^propositions 
doubtless there will be shades of difference in construing this' 
I have by no means a thoroughly matured judgment upon this 
subject, especially as to details ; some general ideas are about 
all. I have long thought to produce any necessary article at 
home which can be made of as good quality and with as little 
labor at home as abroad, would be better policy, at least by the 
difierence of the carrying from abroad. In such a case the 
carrying is demonstrably a dead loss of labor. For instance, 
labor being the true standard of value, is it not plain that if 
equal labor gets a bar of railroad iron out of a mine in Eng- 
land, and another out of a mine in Pennsylvania, each can be 
laid down in a track at home cheaper than they could exchange 
countries, at least by the cost of carriage ? K there be a ]3res- 
ent cause why one can be both made and carried cheaper in 
money price than the other can be made without carrying, that 
cause is an unnatural and injurious one, and ought naturally if 
not rapidly to be removed. The condition of the treasury at 
this time would seem to render an early revision of the Tariff 
indispensable. The Morrill Tariff bill, now pending before 
Congress, may or may not become a law. I am not posted as 



THE martyr's MOXUMEXT. 21 

to its particular proyisions, but if they are generally satisfac- 
tory and the bill shall now pass, there will be an end of the 
matter for the present. If, however, it shall not pass, I suppose 
the whole subject will be one of the most pressing and impor- 
tant for the next Congress. By the Constitution, the Executive 
may recommend measures which he may think proper, and he 
may veto those he thinks improper, and it is supposed that he 
may add to these certain indirect influences to affect the action 
of Congress. My political education strongly inclines me against 
a very free use of any of these means by the Executive to con- 
trol the legislation of the country. As a rule, I think it better 
that Congress should originate as well as perfect its measures 
mthout external bias. I, therefore, would rather recommend 
to every gentleman who knows he is to be a member of the next 
Congress, to take an enlarged view, and inft)rm himself thor- 
oughly, so as to contribute his part to such an adjustment of 
the tariff" as shall produce a sufficient revenue, and in its other 
bearings, so far as possible, be just and equal to all sections of 
the country and all classes of the people. 

SPEECH AT BUFFALO. 

Mr. Mayor aiid Fellow- Citizens of Buffalo and the State of 
New Torh — I am here to thank you briefly for this grand recep- 
tion given to me, not personally, but as the representative of 
our great and beloved country. [Cheers.] Your worthy Mayor 
has been j^leased to mention, in his address to me, the fortunate 
and agreeable journey which I have had from home, only it is a 
rather circuitous route to the Federal caj^ital. I am very happy 
that he was enabled in truth to congratulate myself and com- 
pany on that fact. It is true we have had nothing thus far to 
mar the pleasure of the trip. We have not been met alone by 
those who assisted in giving the election to me ; I say not alone 
by them, but by the whole population of the country through 
which we have passed. This is as it should be. Had the elec- 
tion fallen to any other of the distinguished candidates instead 
of myself, under the peculiar circumstances, to say the least, it 
would have been proper for all citizens to have greeted him as 



22 THE martyr's monument. 

you now greet me. It is an evidence of the devotion of the 
whole people to the Constitution, the Union, and the pei-petuity 
of the liberties of this country. [Cheers.] I am unwilling on 
any occasion that I should be so meanly thought of as to have 
it supposed for a moment that these demonstrations are ten- 
dered to me personally. They are tendered to the country, to 
the institutions of the country, and to the perpetuity of the 
liberties of the country, for which these institutions were made 
and created. 

Your worthy Mayor has thought fit to express the hope that 
I may be able to relieve the country from the present, or, I 
should say, the threatened difficulties. I am sure I bring a 
heart true to the w^ork. [Tremendous applause.] For the 
ability to j^erform it, I must trust in that Supreme Being who 
has never forsaken this favored land, through the instrumental- 
ity of this great and intelligent people. Without that assist- 
ance I shall surely fail ; with it I cannot fail. When we speak 
of threatened difficulties to the country, it is natural that it 
should be expected that something should be said by myself 
with regard to particular measures. Upon more mature reflec- 
tion, however — and others will agree with me — that, when it is 
considered that these difficulties are without precedent, and" 
never have been acted upon by any individual situated as I am, 
it is most proper I should wait and see the developments, and 
get all the light j)ossible, so that when I do speak authoritative- 
ly, I may be as near' right as possible. [Cheers.] When I shall 
speak authoritatively, I hope to say nothing inconsistent with 
the Constitution; the Union, the rights of all the States, of each 
State, and of each section of the country, and not to disappoint 
the reasonable expectations of those who have confided to me 
their votes. In this connection allow me to say that you, as a 
portion of the great American people, need only to maintain 
your composure, stand up to your sober convictions of right, 
to your obligations to the Constitution, and act in accordance 
with those sober convictions, and the clouds which now arise in 
the horizon will be dispelled, and we shall have a bright and 
glorious future ; and when this generation has passed away, 
tens of thousands will inhabit this country where only thou- 



THE martyr's moxumext. 23 

sands inhabit it now. I do not propose to address you at length ; 
I have no voice for it. Allow me again to thank you for this 
magnificent reception, and bid you farewell. 

The following brief recognition of his welcome at Uti- 
ca, is marked by a trait of that whimsical humor which 
did much to smooth the rugged road over which Mr- 
Lincoln was called to pass to glorj and the grave. 

AT UTICA. 

Ladies and Gentlemen — I have no speech to make to you, and 
no time to speak in. I appear before you that I may see you, 
and that you may see me ; and I am willing to admit, that so 
far as the ladies are concerned, I have the best of the bargain, 
though I wish it to be understood that I do not make the same 
acknowledgment concerning the men. [Laughter and applause.] 

SPEECH IN THE HALL OF ASSEMBLY AT ALBANY. 

Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Legislature of tlie State of 
NeiD Y&rJc — It is with feelings of great diffidence, and I may say, 
with feelings of awe, perhaps greater than I have recently ex- 
perienced, that I meet you here in this place. The history of 
this great State, the renown of those great men who have stood 
here, and spoken here, and been heard here, all crowd around my 
fancy, and incline me to shrijik from any attemj^t to address 
you. Yet I have some confidence given me by the generous 
manner in which you have invited me, and by the still more 
generous manner in which you have received me, to speak fur- 
ther. You have invited and received me without distinction of 
party. I cannot for a moment suppose that this has been done, 
in any considerable degree, with reference to my personal ser- 
vices, but that it is done in so far as I am regarded at this time 
as the representative of the majesty of this great nation. I 
doubt not this is the truth, and the whole truth of the case, and 
this is as it should be. It is much more gratifying to me that 
this reception has been given to me as the representative of a 
free people, than it could possibly be if tendered as an evidence 



24 THE martyr's monument. 

of devotion to me, or to any one man personally. And now I 
think it were more fitting that I should close these hasty re- 
marks. It is true that, while I hold myself, T\4thout mock 
modesty, the humblest of all individuals that have ever been 
elevated to the Presidency, I have a more difficult task to per- 
form than any one of them. You have generously tendered me 
the united support of the great Empire State. For this, in be- 
half of the nation —in behalf of the present and future of the 
nation — in behalf of civil and religious liberty for all time to 
come, most gratefully do I thank you. I do not propose to 
enter into an explanation of any particular line of policy as to 
our present difficulties, to be adopted by the incoming Admin- 
istration. I deem it just to you, to myself, and to all, that I 
should see everything, that I should hear everything, that I 
should have every light that can be brought within my reach, in 
order that when I do so speak, I shall have enjoyed every oppor- 
tunity to take correct and true grounds ; and for this reason I 
don't propose to sj)eak, at this time, of the policy of the Gov- 
ernment. But when the time comes I shall speak, as well as I 
am able, for the good of the present and future of this country — 
for the good both of the North and the South of this country — 
for the good of the one and the other, and of all sections of the 
country. [Rounds of applause.] In the meantime, if we have 
patience, if we restrain ourselves, if we allow ourselves not to 
run off in a passion, I still have confidence that the Almighty, 
the Maker of the Universe, will, through the instrumentality of 
this great and intelligent people, bring us through this as he 
has through all the other difficulties of our country. Relying 
on this, I again thank you for this generous reception." [Ap- 
plause and cheers.] 

SPEECH AT THE ASTOR HOUSE, NEW YORK. 

Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen — I am rather an old man to 
avail myself of such an excuse as I am now about to do. Yet 
the truth is so distinct, and presses itself so distinctly upon me, 
that I cannot well avoid it — and that is, that I did not under- 
stand when I was brought into this room that I was brought 



THE martyr's monument. 25 

here to make a speecli. It was not intimated to me that I was 
brought into the room where Daniel Webster and Henhy 
Clay had made speeches, and where, in my position, I might be 
expected to do something like those men, or do something wor- 
thy of myself or my audience. I, therefore, will beg you to 
make very great allowance for the circumstances in which I 
have been by surprise brought before you. Now, I have been 
in the habit of thinking and speaking sometimes upon political 
questions that have for some years past agitated the country ; 
and if I were disposed to do so, and we could take up some one 
of the issues, as the lawyers call them, and I were called upon 
to make an argument about it to the best of my ability, I could 
do so without much preparation. But, that is not what you 
desire to be done here to-night. 

I have been occupying a position, since the Presidential elec- 
tion, of silence, of avoiding public speaking, of avoiding public 
writing. I have been doing so, because I thought, upon full 
consideration, that was the proper course for me to take. 
[Great applause.] I am brought before you now, and required 
to make a speech, when you all approve more than anything 
else of the fact that I have been keeping silence. [Great laugh- 
ter, cries of " Good," and applause.] And now it seems to me 
that the response you give to that remark ought to justify me 
in closing just here. [Great laughter.] I have not kept silence 
since the Presidential election from any party wantonness, or 
from any indifference to the anxiety that pervades the minds of 
men about the aspect of the political affairs of this country. I 
have kept silence for the reason that I supposed it was pecu- 
liarly proper that I should do so until the time came when, ac- 
cording to the custom of the country, I could speak officially. 

A voice — The custom of the country ? 

I heard some gentleman say, "According to the custom of the 
country." I alluded to the custom of the President-elect, at 
the time of taking the oath of office. That is what I meant by 
" the custom of the country." I do supjDose that, while the po- 
litical drama being enacted in this country, at this time, is rap- 
idly shifting its scenes — forbidding an anticipation, with any 
degree of certainty, to-day, what we shall see to-morrow — ^it 

2 



26 THE martyr's monument. 

was peculiarly fitting that I should see it all, up to the last min- 
ute, before I should take ground that I might be disposed (by 
the shifting of the scenes afterwards) also to shift. [Apjjlause.] 
I have said, several times, upon this journey, and I now repeat 
it to you, that when the time does come, I shall then take the 
ground that I think is right — [applause] — the ground that I 
think is right — [applause, and cries of " Good, good"] — right 
for the North, for the South, for the East, for the West, for the 
whole country. [Cries of " Good," "Hurrah for Lincoln," and 
applause.] And in doing so, I hope to feel no necessity pressing 
upon me to say anything in conflict with the Constitution ; in 
conflict with the continued union of these States — [applause] — 
in conflict with the perpetuation of the liberties of this people 
— [applause] — or anything in conflict with any thing whatever 
that I have ever given you reason to expect from me. [Applause.] 
And now, my friends, have I said enough ? [Loud cries of " No, 
no," and three cheers for Lincoln.] Now, my friends, there ap- 
pears to be a difierence of opinion between you and me, and I 
really feel called npon to decide the question myself. [Ap- 
plause, during which Mr. Lincoln descended from the table.] 

AT THE CITY HALL, NEW YORK, 

Mr. Lincoln was formally received by the then Mayor, 
Mr. Fernando Wood, in the following words : 

Mr. Lincoln — As Mayor of New York, it becomes my duty to 
extend to you an oflicial welcome in behalf of the Corporation. 
In doing so permit me to say, that this city has never ofiered 
hospitality to a man clothed with more exalted powers, or rest- 
ing under graver responsibilities, than those which circum- 
stances have devolved upon you. Coming into office with a 
dismembered Government to reconstruct, and a disconnected 
and hostile people to reconcile, it will require a high patriotism, 
and an elevated compreheusion of the whole country and its 
varied interests, opinions, and prejudices, to so conduct public 
afiairs as to bring it back again to its former harmonious, consoli- 
dated, and prosperous condition. If I refer to this topic, sir, it is 



THE martyr's monument. 27 

because New York is deeply interested. The present political 
divisions have sorely afflicted her people. All her material in- 
terests are paralyzed. Her commercial greatness is endangered. 
She is the child of the American Union, She has grown up un- 
der its maternal care, and been fostered by its paternal bounty, 
and we fear that if the Union dies, the j) resent supremacy of 
JSTew York may perish with it. To you, therefore, chosen un- 
der the forms of the Constitution as the head of the Confederacy, 
we look for a restoration of fraternal relations between the 
States — only to be accomplished by peaceful and conciliatoiy 
means, aided by the wisdom of Almighty God. 

Events showed the utter foolishness and presumption of 
Mr. Wood in thus attempting to dictate to Abraham Lin- 
coln, and in his declaration that New York was the child 
of the American Union and that the Union in its integ- 
rity and prosperity was to be restored only by peaceful 
and conciliatory means. Mr. Lincoln met these solemn 
platitudes with the following expression of his clear-headed 
common sense and patriotism. 

Mr. Mayor — It is with feelings of deep gratitude that I make 
my acknowledgments for the reception that has been given me 
in the great commercial city of New York. I cannot but re- 
member that it is done by the people, who do not, by a large 
majority, agree with me in political sentijuent. It is the more 
grateful to me, because in this I see that for the great principles of 
our Government the people are pretty nearly or quite unani- 
mous. In regard to the difficulties that confront us at this time, 
and which you have seen fit to speak so becomingly and so justly, 
I can only say that I agree with the sentiments expressed. In 
my devotion to the Union I hope I am behind no man in the 
nation. As to my wisdom in conducting affairs so as to tend to 
the preservation of the Union, I fear too great confidence may 
have been placed in me. I am sure I bring a heart devoted to 
the work. There is nothing that could ever biing me to con- 
sent — willingly to consent — to the destruction of this Union (io 



28 THE MARTYR'S MONUMENT. 

which not only the great city of New York, but the whole 
country, has acquired its greatness), unless it would be that 
thing for which the Union itself was made. I understand that 
the ship is made for the carrying and preservation of the cargo ; 
and so long as the shij) is safe with the cargo, it shall not be 
abandoned. This Union shall never be abandoned, unless the 
possibility of its existence shall cease to exist, without the ne- 
cessity of throwing passengers and cargo overboard. So long, 
then, as it is possible that the prosperity and liberties of this 
people can be preserved within this Union, it shall be my pur- 
pose at all times to preserve it. And now, Mr. Mayor, renewing 
my thanks for this cordial reception, allow me to come to a 
close. [Applause.] 

AT NEWARK 

Mr. Lincoln uttered the following brief but significant 
sentences : 

Mr. Mayor — I thank you for this reception at the city of New- 
ark. With regard to the great work of which you speak, I will 
say that I bring to it a heart filled with love for my country, and 
an honest desire to do what is right. I am sure, however, that 
I have not the ability to do any thing unaided of God, and that 
without his support, and that of this free, happy, prosperous, 
and intelligent people, no man can succeed in doing that the 
importance of which we all comprehend. Again thanking you 
for the reception you have given me, I will now bid you fare- 
well, and proceed upon my journey. 

SPEECHES AT TRENTON, N. J. 
IN THE SENATE CHAMBER. 

Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Senate of the State of New 
Jersey— 1 am very grateful to you for the honorable reception 
of which I have been the object. I can not but remember the 
place that New Jersey holds in our early history. In the early 
revolutionary struggle few of the States among the old thirteen 



29 



had more of the battle-fields of the country within their limits 
than old New Jersey. May I be pardoned if, upon this occa- 
sion, I mention that away back in my childhood, the earliest 
days of my being able to read, I got hold of a small book, such 
a one as few of the younger members have ever seen, " Weem's 
Life of Washington.'''' I remember all the accounts there given 
of the battle-fields and struggles for the liberties of the country, 
and none fixed themselves upon my imagination so deeply as 
the struggle here at Trenton, New Jersey. The crossing of the 
river ; the contest with the Hessians ; the great hardships endured 
at that time, all fixed themselves on my memory, more than any 
single revolutionary event ; and you all know, for you have all 
been boys, how these early impressions last longer than any 
others. I recollect thiaking then, boy even though I was, that 
there must have been something more than common that these 
men struggled for. I am exceedingly anxious that that thing 
which they struggled for; that something even more than 
National Independence ; that something that held out a great 
promise to all the people of the world to all time to come — I 
am exceedingly anxious that this Union, the Constitution, and 
the liberties of the people shall be perpetuated in accordance 
with the original idea for which that struggle was made, and I 
shall be most happy indeed if I shall be an humble instrument 
in the hands of the Almighty and of this, his most chosen peo- 
ple, as the chosen instrument— also in the hands of the Almighty 
— for perpetuating the object of that great struggle. You give 
me this reception, as I understand, without distinction of party. 
I learn that this body is composed of a majority of gentlemen 
who, in the exercise of their best judgment in the choice of a 
Chief Magistrate, did not think I was the man. I understand, 
nevertheless, that they come forward here to greet me as the 
constitutional President of the United States— as citizens of the 
United States, to meet the man who, for the time being, is the 
representative man of the nation — united by a purpose to per- 
petuate the Union and liberties of the people. As such, I accept 
this reception more gratefully than I could do did I believe it 
was tendered to me as an individual. 



30 THE martyr's monument. 



EST TECE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY. 

Mr. Speaker and. GeoitleTnen — I have just enjoyed the honor of 
a reception by the other branch of this Legislature, and I return 
to you and them my thanks for the reception which the people 
of New Jersey have given, through their chosen representatives, 
to me as the representative, for the time being, of the majesty 
of the people of the United States. I appropriate to myselt 
very little of the demonstrations of respect with which I have 
been greeted. I think little should be given to any man, but 
that it should be a manifestation of adherence to the Union and 
the Constitution. I understand myself to be received here by 
the representatives of the people of New Jersey, a majority of 
whom differ in opinion from those with whom I have acted. 
This manifestation is, therefore, to be regarded by me as express- 
ing their devotion to the Union, the Constitution, and the liberties 
of the people. You, Mr. Speaker, have well said, that this is a 
time when the bravest and wisest look with doubt and awe upon 
the aspect presented by our national affairs. Under these cir- 
cumstances, you will readily see why I should not S23eak in detail 
of the course I shall deem it best to pursue. It is proper that 
I should avail myself of all the information and all the time at 
my command, in order that when the time arrives in which I 
must speak officially, I shall be able to take the ground which 
I deem the best and safest, and from which I may have no occasion 
to swerve. I shall endeavor to take the ground I deem most 
just to the North, the East, the West, the South, and the whole 
country, I take it, I hope, in good temper, certainly with no 
malice towards any section, I shall do all that may be in my 
power to promote a peaceful settlement of all our difficulties. 
The man does not live who is more devoted to peace than I am. 
[Cheers.] None who would do more to preserve it, but it may 
be necessaiy to j)ut the foot down firmly. [Here the audience 
broke out into cheers so loud, and long, that for some moments 
it was impossible to hear Mr. Lincoln's voice.] And if I do 
my duty and do right you will sustain me, will you not ? [Loud 
cheers, and cries of " Yes, yes, we will."] Received, as I am, 
by the members of a Legislature, the majority of whom do not 



31 



agree with me in political sentiments, I trust that I may liave 
their assistance in piloting the ship of state through this voyage, 
surrounded by perils as it is, for if it should suffer wreck now, 
there will be no pilot ever needed for another voyage. Gentle- 
men, I have already spoken longer than I intended, and must 
heg leave to stop here. 

SPEECHES AT PHILADELPHIA. 

Mr. Mayor and Fellow- Citizens of Philadelphia — I appear before 
you to make no lengthy speech, but to thank you for this recep- 
tion. The reception you have given me to-night is not to me, 
the man, the individual, but to the man who temporarily repre- 
sents, or should represent the majesty of the nation. [Cheers.] 
It is true, as your worthy Mayor has said, that there is anxiety 
amongst the citizens of the United States at this time. I deem 
it a happy circumstance that this dissatisfied position of our 
fellow-citizens does not point us to anything in which they are 
being injured, or about to be injured, for which reason I have 
felt all the while justified in concluding that the crisis, the panic, 
the anxiety of the country at this time, is artificial. If there be 
those who differ with me upon this subject, they have not pointed 
out the substantial difficulty that exists. I do not mean to say 
that an artificial j^anic may not do considerable harm : that it 
has done such I do not deny. The hope that has been expressed 
by your Mayor, that I may be able to restore peace, harmony, and 
prosperity to the country, is most worthy of him ; and happy, 
indeed, will I be if I shall be able to verify and fulfill that hope. 
[Tremendous cheering.] I promise you, in all sincerity, that I 
bring to the work a sincere heart. Whether I will bring a head 
equal to that heart will be for future times to determine. It 
were useless for me to speak of details of jolans now ; I shall 
speak officially next Monday week, if ever. K I should not 
speak then it were useless for me to do so now. If I do speak 
then it is useless for me to do so now. When I do speak I shall 
take such ground as I deem best calculated to restore peace, har- 
mony, and prosperity to the country, and tend to the perpetuity 
of the nation and the liberty of these States and these people. 



32 THE martyr's monument. 

Your worthy Mayor lias expressed the wish, in which I join 
with him, that it were convenient for me to remain in your city 
long enough to consult your merchants and manufacturers ; or, 
as it were, to listen to those breathings rising within the conse- 
crated walls wherein the Constitution of the United States, and 
I will add, the Declaration of Independence, were originally 
framed and adopted. [Enthusiastic applause.] I assure you 
and your Mayor that I had hoped on this occasion, and uj^on all 
occasions during my life, that I should do nothing inconsistent 
with the teachings of these holy and most sacred walls. I 
never asked anything that does not breathe from these walls. All 
my political warfare has been in favor of the teachings that 
came forth from these sacred walls. May my right hand forget 
its cunning, and my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if 
ever I prove false to those teachings. Fellow-citizens, I have 
addressed you longer than I expected to do, and now allow me 
to bid you good night. 

AT INDEPENDENCE HALL, 

In Philadelphia, Mr. Lincoln was present to honor the 
raising of a new flag upon that time-honored building. 
He raised the flag with his own hands, and afterward 
made the following speech, in which he made a striking 
allusion, which subsequent events gave reason for be- 
lieving was not made by mere chance, to the possibility 
of his life being sought by assassins. The purposes of 
the men who were then seeking to get him out of their 
way by the knife and the pistol, were frustrated for four 
years, long enough for him to accomplish the great object 
of his life — the preservation and the regeneration of his 
country. 

Mr. Cuyler — I am filled with deepemotion at finding myself 
standing here in this place, where were collected together the 
wisdom, the patriotism, the devotion to principle from whicl' 



THE martyr's monument. 33 

sprang the institutions under which we live. You have kindly 
suggested to me that in my hands is the task of restoring peace 
to the present distracted condition of the country. I can say 
in return, sir, that all the political sentiments I entertain have 
been drawn, so far as I have been able to draw them, from the 
sentiments which originated in and were given to the world 
from this hall. I have never had a feeling, politically, that did 
net spiing from the sentiments embodied in the Declaration of 
Independence. I have often pondered over the dangers which 
were incurred by the men who assembled here, and framed and 
adopted that Declaration of Independence. I have pondered 
over the toils that were endured by the officers and soldiers of 
the army who achieved that Independence. I have often in- 
quired of myself what great principle or idea it was that kept 
this Confederacy so long together. It w^as not the mere mat- 
ter of the separation of the Colonies from the mother land, 
but that sentiment in the Declaration of Independence which 
gave liberty, not alone to the people of this country, but I 
hope, to the world, for all future time. [Great applause,] It 
was that which gave joromise that in due time the weight would 
be lifted from the shoulders of all men. This is the sentiment 
embodied in the Declaration of Independence. Now, my 
friends, can this country be saved uijon that basis ? If it can, 
I ■^'ill consider myself one of the haj)piest men in the world if 
I can help to save it. If it cannot be saved upon that principle 
it will be truly awful. But if this country cannot be saved 
without giving up that principle, I was about to say I would 
rather be assassinated on this spot than surrender it. [Ap- 
plause.] Now, in my view of the present aspect of affairs, 
there need be no bloodshed or war. There is no necessity for 
it. I am not in favor of such a course, and I may say in ad- 
vance that there will be no bloodshed, unless it be forced upon 
the Government, and then it will be compelled to act in self- 
defence. [Applause.] 

My friends, this is wholly an unexpected speech, and I did 
not expect to be called upon to say a word when I came here. 
I supposed it was merely to do something towards raising the 
flag — I may therefore, have said something indiscreet. [Cries 

2* . 



84 THE martyr's monument. 

of " No, no."] I have said nothing but what I am willing to 
live by, and if it be the pleasure of Almighty God, die by. 

AT HARRISBURG. 

From Philadelphia, Mr. Lincoln went to Harrisburg, 
where he was received by the presiding officers of the 
Houses of Legislature at the Capitol. To his welcome 
he made the following reply : 

I appear before you only for a very few, brief remarks, in re- 
sponse to what has been said to me. I thank you most sin- 
cerely for this reception and the generous words in which sup- 
port has been promised me upon this occasion. I thank your 
great Commonwealth for the overwhelming support it recently 
gave, not me personally, but the cause which I think a just one, 
in the late election. [Loud applause.] Allusion has been 
made to the fact — the interesting fact, perhaps, we should say — 
that I for the first time apj)ear at the Capital of the great Com- 
monwealth of Pennsylvania upon the birthday of the Father of 
his Country, in connection with that beloved anniversary con- 
nected with the history of this country. I have already gone 
through one exceedingly interesting scene this morning in the 
ceremonies at Philadelphia. Under the high conduct of gentle- 
men there, I was for the first time allowed the privilege of stand- 
ing in old Independence Hall [Enthusiastic cheering], to have a 
few words addressed to me there, and opening up to me an op- 
portunity of expressing, with much regret, that I had not more 
time to express something of my own feelings, excited by the occa- 
sion, somewhat to harmonize and give shape to the feelmgs 
that had been really the feelings of my whole life. Besides this, 
our friends there had provided a magnificent flag of the country. 
They had it arranged so that I was given the honor of raising 
it to the head of its staff. [Applause.] And when it went up 
I was pleased that it went to its place by the strength of my own 
feeble arm, when, according to the arrangement, the cord was 
pulled, and it floated gloriously to the wind, without an acci- 
dent, in the light, glowing sunshine of the morning. I could 
not help hoping that there was, in the entire success of that 



THE martyr's monument. 85 

beautiful ceremony, at least something of an omen of what is to 
come. [Loud applause.] How could I help feeling then as I 
often have felt ? In the whole of that proceeding I was a very 
humble instrument. I had not provided the flag ; I had not 
made the arrangements foj* elevating it to its place ; I had ap- 
plied but a very small portion of my feeble strength in raising 
it. In the whole transaction I was in the hands of the people 
who had arranged it, and if I can have the same generous co- 
operation of the people of the nation, I think the flag of our 
country may yet be kept flaunting gloriously, [Loud, enthu- 
siastic, and continued cheers.] I recur for a moment but to re- 
peat some words uttered at the hotel, in regard to what has 
been said about the military support which the General Govern- 
ment may expect from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in a 
proper emergency. To guard against any possible mistake do 
I recur to this. It is not with any pleasure that I contemplate 
the possibility that a necessity may arise in this country for the 
use of the military arm. [Applause.] WhUe I am exceedingly 
gratified to see the manifestation upon your streets of your mili- 
tary force here, and exceedingly gratified at your promises here 
to use that force upon a proper emergency — while I make these 
acknowledgments, I desire to repeat, in order to preclude any 
possible misconstruction, that I do most sincerely hope that we 
shall have no use for them, [Applause.] That it will never 
become their duty to shed blood, and most especially never to 
shed fraternal blood. I promise that, so far as I may have 
wisdom to direct, if so painful a result shall in anywise be 
brought about, it shall be through no fault of mine. [Cheers.] 
Allusion has also been made by one of your honored speakers 
to some remarks recently made by myself at Pittsburg, in regard . 
to what is supposed to be the especial interest of this great 
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I now wish only to say, in 
regard to that matter, that the few remarks which I uttered on 
that occasion were rather carefully worded. I took pains that 
they should be so. I have seen no occasion since to add to 
them, or subtract from them. I leave them precisely as they 
stand [applause], adding only now that I am i)leased to have 
an expression from you, gentlemen of Peimsylvania, significant 
that they are satisfactory to you. And now, gentlemen of the 



36 THE martyr's monument. 

General Assembly of the Commonwealtli of Pennsylvania, allow 
me to return you again my most sincere thanks. 

From Harrisburg the President-elect went by a night 
train, and as privately as possible/ to Washington : it hav- 
ing been thought best by his advisers thus to preclude 
the possibility of any excitement or disturbance, which 
could have been taken advantage of by his secret and 
desperate enemies. The day after his arrival he made 
the following reply to his welcome by the Mayor and 
Common Council 

AT WASHINGTON. 

Mr. Mayor— I. thank you, and through you the municipal 
authorities of this city who accompany you, for this welcome. 
And as it is the first time in my life, since the present phase of 
politics has presented itself in this country, that I have said any- 
thing publicly within a region of country where the institution 
of slavery exists, I will take this occasion to say, that I think 
veiy much of the ill-feeling that has existed and still exists 
between the people in the section from which I came and the 
people here, is dependent upon a misunderstanding of one 
another. I therefore avail myself of this opportunity to assure 
you, Mr. Mayor, and all the gentlemen present, that I have not 
now, and never have had, any other than as kindly feelings 
towards you as to the people of my own section. I have aot now, 
and never have had, any disposition to treat you in any respect 
otherwise than as my own neighbors. I have not now any 
purpose to withhold from you any of the benefits of the Consti- 
tution, under any circumstances, that I would not feel myself 
constrained to withhold from my own neighbors ; and 1 hope, 
in a word, that when we shall become better acquainted, and I 
say it with great confidence, we shall like each other the more. 
I thank you for the kindness of this reception. 

. On the 4th of March, 1861, Mr. Lincoln assumed the 
office of President of the United States, to which Vice- 



THE martyr's monument. 37 

President Breckinridge had declared in the Senate that 
he had been lawfully elected. But in seven States, South 
Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Florida, 
and Louisiana, his lawful authority could not be exercised, 
those States being under the control of the rebels, while 
Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, and Tennessee were vio- 
lently agitated upon the subject of secession. In all of 
these four States there was a majority of the people, inclu- 
ding men of high character and ability, faithful to their al- 
legiance to the National Government. President Lincoln's 
first task was to take such a position as would consolidate 
the support of that Government in the Free Spates and 
confirm the loyalty of the Border States, and if possible, 
prevent them from falling into the hands of the Seces- 
sionist party. This was the chief purpose of his inaug?i- 
ral address, which follows. 

INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 

Fellmc- Citizens of the United States — In compliance witli a 
custom as old as the Government itself, I appear before you to 
address you briefly, and to take in your presence the oath pre- 
scribed by the Constitution of the United States to be taken by 
the President " before he enters on the execution of his office." 

I do not consider it necessary at present for me to discuss 
those matters of administration about which there is no special 
anxiety or excitement. . 

Apprehension seems to exist among the j)eople of the South- 
ern States that by the accession of a Republican Administration 
their property and their peace and personal security are to be 
endangered. There has never been any reasonable cause for 
such apprehension. Indeed the most ample evidence to the con- 
trary has all the while existed and been open to their inspection. 
It is found in nearly all the published speeches of him who now 
addresses you. I do but quote from one of those speeches when 
I declare that " I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to 



38 



interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it 
exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no 
inclination to do so." Those who nominated and elected me 
did so with full knowledge that I had made this and many sim- 
ilar declarations, and had never recanted them. And more than 
this, they placed in the platform for my acceptance, and as a law 
to themselves and to me, the clear and emphatic resolution 
which I now read : 

Hesolved, That the maintenance inviolate of the rights of the 
States, and especially the rights of each State, to order and con- 
trol its own domestic institutions according to its own judgment 
exclusively, is essential to the balance of power on v/hich the 
perfection and endurance of our political fabric depend, and 
we denounce the lawless invasion by armed force of the soil of 
any State or Territory, no matter under what pretext, as among 
the gravest of crimes. 

I now reiterate these sentiments ; and, in doing so, I only im- 
press upon the public attention the most conclusive evidence of 
which the case is susceptible, that the property, peace, and 
security of no section are to be in any wise endangered by the 
now incoming Administration. I add, too, that all the protec- 
tion which, consistently with the Constitution and the laws, can 
be given, will be cheerfully given to all the States, when law- 
fully demanded, for whatever cause — as cheerfully to one section 
as to another. 

There is much controversy about the delivering up of fugi- 
tives from service or labor. The clause I now read is as plainly 
written in the Constitution as any other of its provisions : 

" No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws 
thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law 
or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor, 
but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such 
service or labor may be due." 

It is scarcely questioned that this provision was intended by 
those who made it for the reclaiming of what we call fugitive 
slaves ; and the intention of the lawgiver is the law. All mem- 
bers of Congress swear their support to the whole Constitution 
— to this provision as much as any other. To the proposition, 



THE martyr's monument. 39 

then, that slaves, whose cases come ■within the terms of this 
clause, "shall be delivered up," their oaths are unanimous. 
Now, if they would make the effort in good temper, could they 
not, with nearly equal unanimity, frame and pass a law by means 
of which to keep good that unanimous oath ? 

There is some difference of opinion whether this clause should 
be enforced by National or by State authority ; but surely that 
difference is not a very material one. If the slave is to be sur- 
rendered, it can be of but little consequence to him, or to others 
by which authority it is done. And should any one, in any 
case, be content that his oath shall go unkept, on a mere unsub- 
stantial controversy as to how it shall be kept ? 

Again, in any law upon this subject, ought not all the safe- 
guards of liberty known in civilized and humane jurisprudence 
to be introduced, so that a free man be not, in any case, surren- 
dered as a slave ? And might it not be well, at the same time, 
to provide by law for the enforcement of that clause in the 
Constitution which guarantees that " the citizens of each State 
shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in 
the several States ?" 

I take the official oath to-day with no mental reservations, and 
with no purpose to construe the Constitution or laws by any 
hypercritical rules. And while I do not choose now to specify 
particular acts of Congress as proper to be enforced, I do sug- 
gest that it will be much safer for all, both in official and private 
stations, to conform to and abide by all those acts which stand 
unrepealed, than to violate any of them, trusting to find imj)u- 
nity in having them held to be unconstitutional. 

It is seventy-two years since the first inauguration of a Presi- 
dent under our national Constitution. During that period, 
fifteen different and greatly distinguished citizens have, in suc- 
cession, administered the Executive branch of the Government. 
They have conducted it through many perils, and generally with 
great success. Yet, with all this scope for precedent, I now 
enter upon the same task for the brief constitutional term of 
four years, under great and peculiar difficulty. A disruption of 
the Federal Union, heretofore only menaced, is now formidably 
attempted. 



40 THE martyr's monument. 

I hold that, in contemplation of universal law, and of the 
Constitution, the Union of these States is perpetual. Perpetuity 
is implied, if not expressed, in the fundamental law of all 
national governments. It is safe to assert that no government 
proper ever had a provision in its organic law for its own termi- 
nation. Continue to execute all the express provisions of our 
national Constitution, and the Union will endure forever — it 
being impossible to destroy it, except by some action not pro- 
vided for in the instrument itself. 

Again, if the United States be not a government proper, but 
an association of States in the nature of contract merely, can it, 
as a contract, be peaceably unmade by less than all the parties 
who made it ? One party to a contract may violate it — break 
it, so to speak ; but does it not require all to lawfully rescind it ? 

Descending from these general principles, we find the propo- 
sition that, in legal contemplation, the Union is perpetual, con- 
firmed by the history of the Union itself The Union is much 
older than the Constitution. It was formed, in fact, by the Arti- 
cles of Association in 1774. It was matured and continued by 
the Declaration of Independence in 1776. It was further 
matured, and the faith of all the then Thirteen States expressly 
plighted and engaged that it should be perpetual, by the Arti- 
cles of Confederation in 1778. And, finally, in 1787, one of the 
declared objects for ordaining and establishing the Constitution 
was " to form a more perfect union." 

But if destruction of the Union, by one, or by a part only, 
of the States be lawfully possible, the Union is less perfect 
than before, the Constitution having lost the vital element of 
perpetuity. 

It follows, from these views, that no State, upon its own 
mere motion, can lawfully get out of the Union ; that resolves 
and ordinances to that effect are legally void ; and that acts of 
violence within any State or States, against the authority of the 
United States, are insurrectionary or revolutionary, according 
to circumstances. 

I, therefore, consider that, in view of the Constitution and 
the laws, the Union is unbroken, and to the extent of my ability 
I shall take care, as the Constitution itself expressly enjoins 



THE martyr's monument. 41 

upon me, tliat the laws of the Union be faithfully executed in 
all the States. Doing this I deem to be only a simple duty on 
my part ; and I shall perform it, so far as i^racticable, unless 
my rightful masters, the American people, shall withhold the 
requisite means, or, in some authoritative manner, direct the 
contrary. I trust this will not be regarded as a menace, but 
only as the declared purpose of the Union that it will constitu- 
tionally defend and maintain itself. 

In doing this there need be no bloodshed or violence ; and 
there shall be none, unless it be forced upon the national author- 
ity. The iDower confided to me will be used to hold, occupy, 
and possess the property and places belonging to the Govern- 
ment, and to collect the duties and imposts ; but beyond what 
may be but necessary for these objects, there will be no invasion, 
no using of force against or among the people anywhere. 
Where hostility to the United States, in any interior locality, . 
shall be so great and universal as to prevent competent resident 
citizens from holding the Federal offices, there will be no attempt 
to force obnoxious strangers among the people for that object. 
Where the strict legal right may exist in the Government to 
enforce the exercise of these offices, the attempt to do so would 
be so irritating, and so nearly imf)racticable withal, I deem it 
better to forego, for the time, the uses of such offices. 

The mails, unless repelled, will continue to be furnished in 
all parts of the Union. So far as j)ossible the people every- 
where shall have that sense of perfect security which is most 
favorable to calm thought and reflection. The course here in- 
dicated will be followed, unless current events and experience 
shall show a modification or change to be proper, and in every 
case and exigency my best discretion vsdll be exercised, accord- 
ing to circumstances actually existing, and witli a view and a 
hope of a peaceful solution of the national troubles, and the 
restoration of fraternal sympathies and affections. 

That there are persons in one section or another who seek to 
destroy the Union at all events, and are glad of any pretext to 
do it, I will neither affirm nor deny ; but if there be such, I 
need address no word to them. To those, however, who really 
love the Union, may I not speak ? 



42 THE martyr's monument. 

Before entering upon so grave a matter as the destruction of 

our national fabric, with all its benefits, its memories, and its hopes, 
would it not be wise to ascertain precisely why we do it ? Will you 
hazard so desperate a step while there is any possibility that any 
portion of the ills you fly from have no real existence ? Will you 
while the certain ills you fly to are greater than all the real ones 
you fly from — will you risk the commission of so fearful a mistake ? 
All profess to be content in the Union, if all constitutional 
rights can be maintained. Is it true, then, that any right, 
plainly written in the Constitution, has been denied ? I think 
not. Happily the human mind is so constituted that no party 
can reach to the audacity of doing this. Think, if you can, 
of a single instance in which a plainly written provision of the 
Constitution has ever been denied. If, by the mere force of 
numbers, a majority should deprive a minority of any clearly 
written constitutional right, it might, in a moral point of view 
justify revolution, — certainly would if such right were a vital 
one. But such is not our jcase. All the vital rights of minor- 
ities and of individuals are so plainly assured to them by 
aflHrmations and negations, guarantees and prohibitions in the 
Constitution, that controversies never arise concerning them. 
But no organic law can ever be framed with a provision specifi- 
cally applicable to every question which may occur in practical 
administration. No foresight can anticipate, nor any document 
of reasonable length contain, express provisions for all possible 
questions. Shall fugitives from labor be surrendered by Na- 
tional or by State authority ? The Constitution does not ex- 
pressly say. May Congress prohibit slavery in the Territories ? 
The Constitution does not expressly say. Must Congress pro- 
tect slavery in the Territories ? The Constitution does not ex- 
pressly say. 

From questions of this class spring all our constitutional 
controversies, and we divide upon them into majorities and 
minorities. If the minority will not acquiesce the majority 
must, or the Government must cease. There is no other alter- 
native ; for continuing the Government is acquiescence on one 
side or the other. If a minority in such case will secede rather 
than acquiesce, they make a precedent which, in turn, Avill 



THE martyr's monument. 43 

divide and ruin them ; for a minority of their own will secede 
from them whenever a majority refuses to be controlled by such 
minority. For instance, why may not any portion of a new 
Confederacy, a year or two heijce, arbitrarily secede again, pre- 
cisely as portions of the present Union now claim to secede 
from it ? All who cherish disunion sentiments are now being 
educated to the exact temper of doing this. 

Is there such perfect identity of interests among the States to 
compose a new Union, as to jDroduce harmony only, and prevent 
renewed secession ? 

Plainly, the central idea of secession is the essence of anarchy. 
A majority held in restraint by constitutional checks and limi- 
tations, and always changing easily with deliberate changes of 
popular opinions and sentiments, is the only true sovereign 
of a free people. Whoever rejects it, does, of necessity, fly to 
anarchy or to desjDotism. Unanimity is impossible ; the rule 
of a minority, as a permanent arrangement, is wholly inadmis- 
sible ; so that, rejecting the majority principle, anarchy or des- 
potism in some form is all that is left. 

I do not forget the position assumed by some, that constitu- 
tional questions are to be decided by the Supreme Court ; nor 
do I deny that such decisions must be binding, in any case, 
upon the parties to a suit as to the object of that suit, while 
they are also entitled to a very high respect and consideration, 
in all parallel cases, by all other departments of the Govern- 
ment. And while it is obviously possible that such decisions 
may be erroneous in any given case, still the evil effect follo^^nug 
it being limited to that particular case, with the chance that it 
may be overruled, and never become a precedent for other 
cases, can better be borne than could the evils of a different 
practice. At the same time the candid citizen must confess that 
if the policy of the Government upon vital questions affecting 
the whole people, is to be irrevocably fixed by decisions of the 
SujDreme Court, the instant they are made in ordinary litigation 
between parties in personal actions, the people will have ceased 
to be their own rulers, having to that extent practically resigned 
their Government into the hands of that eminent tribunal. 

jSTor is there in this view any assault upon the Court of the 



44 THE martyr's monument. 

Judges. It is a duty from wliich they may not shrink to decide 
cases properly brought before them, and it is no fault of theirs 
if others seek to turn their decisions to political purposes. 
One section of our country believes slavery is right, and ought 
to be extended, while the other believes it is wrong, and ought 
not to be extended. This is the only substantial dispute. The 
fugitive slave clause of the Constitution, and the law for the 
suppression of the foreign slave-trade, are each as well enforced, 
perhaps, as any law can ever be in a community where the 
moral sense of the j)eople imperfectly support the law itself 
The great body of the people abide by the dry legal obligation 
in both cases, and a few break over in each. This, I think, 
cannot be perfectly cured ; and it would be worse in both cases 
after the separation of the sections than before. The foreign 
slave-trade, now imperfectly supjDressed, would be ultimately 
revived without restriction in one section ; while fugitive slaves, 
now only partially surrendered, would not be surrendered at all 
by the other. 

Physically speaking, we cannot separate. We cannot remove 
our respective sections fi*om each other, nor build an impassable 
wall between them. A husband and wife may be divorced, and 
go out of the presence and beyond the reach of each other ; but 
the different parts of our country cannot do this. They cannot 
but remain face to face; and intercourse, either amicable or 
hostile, must continue between them. It is impossible, then, to 
make that intercourse more advantagous or more satisfactory 
after separation than before. Can aliens make treaties easier 
than friends can make laws ? Can treaties be more faithfully 
enforced between aliens than laws can among friends ? Sup- 
pose you go to war, you cannot fight always ; and when, after 
much loss on both sides, and no gain on either, you cease fight- 
ing, the identical old questions as to terms of intercourse, are 
again upon you. 

This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who 
inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing Gov- 
ernment, they can exercise their constitutional right of amend- 
ing it, or their revolutionaiy right to dismember or overthrow 
it. I cannot be ignorant of the fact that many worthy and 



THE martyr's monument. 45 

patriotic citizens are desirous of liaving the national Constitu- 
tion amended. While I make no recommendation of amend- 
ments, I fully recognize the rightful authority of the peo]3le 
over the whole subject, to be exercised in either of the modes 
prescribed in the instrument itself; and I should, under exist- 
ing circumstances, favor rather than oppose a fair opportunity 
being aflforded the people to act upon it. I will venture to add, 
that to me the convention mode seems preferable, in that it 
allows amendments to originate with the people themselves, 
instead of only permitting them to take or reject propositions 
originated by others not especially chosen for the purpose, and 
W^hich might not be precisely such as they would wish to either 
accept or refuse. I understand a proposed amendment to the 
Constitution — ^which amendment, however, I have not seen — has 
passed Congress, to the effect that the Federal Government shall 
never interfere -svith the domestic institutions of the States, in- 
cluding that of persons held to service. To avoid misconstruc- 
tion of what I have said, I depart from my pui-pose not to 
speak of particular amendments so far as to say that, holding 
such a provision now to be implied constitutional law, I have 
no objections to its being made express and irrevocable. 

The Chief Magistrate derives all his authority from the peo- 
ple, and they have conferred none upon him to fix terms for the 
separation of the States. The people themselves can do this 
also if they choose ; but the Executive, as such, has nothing to 
do with it. His duty is to administer the present Government 
as it came to his hands, and to transmit it, unimpaired by him, 
to his successor. 

Why should there not be a patient confidence in the ultimate 
justice of the people ? Is there any better or equal hope in the 
world? In our present differences, is either party without 
faith of being in the right ? If the Almighty Ruler of Nations, 
•with his eternal truth and justice, be on your side of the North, 
or on yours of the South, that truth and that justice will surely 
prevail, by the judgment of this great tribunal of the American 
people. 

By the frame of the Government under which we live, the 
same people have wisely given their public servants but little 



46 THE martyr's monument. 

power for miscliief ; and have, Tsdth equal wisdom, provided 
for the return of that little to their owti hands at vciy short 
intervals. While the people retain their virtue and vigilance, 
no Administration, by any extreme of wickedness or folly, can 
very seriously injure the Government in the short space of four 
years. 

My countiymen, one and all, think calmly and well upon this 
whole subject. Nothing valuable can be lost, by taking time. 
If there be an object to hurry any of you in hot haste to a step 
which you would never take deliberately, that object will be 
frustrated by taking time, but no good object can be frustrated 
by it. Such of you as are now dissatisfied still have the old 
Constitution unimpaired, and, on the sensitive point, the laws 
of your own framing under it ; while the new Administration 
will have no immediate power, if it would, to change either. 
If it were admitted that you who are dissatisfied hold the right 
side in the dispute, there still is no single good reason for 
precipitate action. Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity and 
a firm reliance on Him who has never yet forsaken this fav- 
ored land, are still competent to adjust, in the best way, all 
our present difl&culty. 

In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in 
mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The Government 
will not assail you. 

You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggress- 
ors. You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the 
Government ; while I shall have the most solemn one to "^ pre- 
serve, protect, and defend" it. 

I am loth to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We 
must not be enemies. Though passion may have straine i, it 
must not break our bonds of affection. 

The mystic chord of memory, stretching from every battle-l ield 
and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over • 
this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when 
again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our 
nature. Abraham Lincoln. 

President Lincoln's views and announcement of hip 



THE martyr's monument. 47 

policy in this address met general approval throughout 
the Free States ; but in the Border Slave States it was 
at first a mere bone of contention between the Union men 
and the secessionists. The State Convention of Vir- 
ginia, a decided majority of which was against secession, 
sent a committee of three to the President to ask him to 
define his position toward the South more clearly. He 
replied by the following letter which wa's presented to 
the Convention by the Committee, on the 13th of April : 

REPLY TO THE COMMITTEE OF THE VIRGINIA CONVEN- 
TION. 

To Hon. Messrs. Preston, Stuart, and Randolph : 

Gentletj:en: As a committee of the Virginia Convention, 
now in session, you present me a preamble and resolution in 
these words : 

Whereas, In the opinion of this Convention, the unceiiainty 
which prevails in the public mind as to the policy which the 
Federal Executive intends to pursue towards the seceded States, 
is extremely injurious to the industrial and commercial interests 
of the country, tends to keep up an excitement which is unfa- 
vorable to the adjustment of the pending difficulties, and 
threatens a disturbance of the public peace ; therefore. 

Resolved, That a committee of three delegates be appointed 
to await on the President of the United States, present to him 
this preamble, and respectfully ask him to communicate to this 
Convention the policy which the Federal Executive intends to 
pursue in regard to the Confederate States. 

In answer I have to say, that having, at the beginning of my 
official term, expressed my intended policy as plainly as I was 
able, it is with deep regret and mortification I now learn there 
is great and injurious uncertainty in the public mind as to what 
that policy is, and what course I intend to pursue. Not having 
as yet seen occasion to change, it is now my purpose to pursue 



48 THE martyr's monument. 

fclie course marked out in the Inaugural Address. I commend 
a careful consideration of tlie whole document as the best ex- 
pression I can give to my purposes. As I then and therein 
said, I now repeat, " The power confided in me will be used to 
hold, occupy, and possess property and places belonging to the 
Government, and to collect the duties and imposts ; but beyond 
what is necessary for these objects there will be no invasion, no 
using of force against or among the people anywhere." By the 
words "property and places belonging to the Government," I 
chiefly allude to the military posts and property which were in 
possession of the Government when it came into my hands. 
But if, as now appears to be true, in pursuit of a purpose to diive 
the United States authority from these places, an unprovoked 
assault has been made upon Fort Sumter, I shall hold myself 
at liberty to repossess it, if I can, like places which had been 
seized before the Government was devolved upon me ; and in 
any event I shall, to the best of my ability, repel force by force. 
In case it proves true that Fort Sumter has been assaulted, as is 
reiDorted, I shall perhaps, cause the United States mails to be 
withdrawn from all the States which claim to have seceded, 
believing that the commencement of actual war against the 
Government, justifies and possibly demands it. I scarcely need 
to say that I consider the military posts and property situated 
within the States which claim to have seceded, as yet belonging 
to the Government of the United States as much as they did be- 
fore the supposed secession. Whatever else I may do for the pur- 
pose, I shall not attempt to collect the duties and imposts by any 
armed invasion of any part of the country ; not meaning by this, 
however, that I may not land a force deemed necessary to relieve a 
fort upon the border of the country. From the fact that I have 
quoted a part of the Inaugural Address, it must not be inferred 
that I repudiate any other part, the whole of which I reaffirm, 
except so far as what I now say of the mails may be regarded 
as a modification. Abraham Lincoln. 

The leading secessionists felt sure that if they could 
bring about a collision between what they called the 
South and the Government, the immediate effect would 



I 



THE martyr's monument. 49 

be such an aroused spirit of resistance among all the lead- 
ing men and "fire-eaters" in the Slave States as would 
inmiediately enable the secessionists to seize power in the 
Border States. This collision they sought at Charleston, 
where, during the unavoidable inaction of the Govern- 
ment, tliej had at first planned the seizure of Fort Moul- 
trie, under command of Major Anderson, and after his 
retirement with his little garrison to Fort Sumter, had 
surrounded the latter work with powerful shore batteries 
and a force of many thousand men. When Mr. Lincoln 
took ofiice it was already impossible to send reinforce- 
ments to the garrison before their provisions would be 
exhausted ; and upon it being made known that provisions 
were about to be sent. General Beauregard, by command 
of Mr. Jefferson Davis, who had been elected "Provis- 
ional President" of a temporary Confederacy with head- 
quarters at Montgomery, Alabama, opened his batteries 
upon Major Anderson, and after two days' bombardment 
set the fort on fire, and made it untenable. It was evac- 
uated on the 14th of April, amid the profoundest excite- 
ment throughout the country, and on the 15th Mr. Lin- 
coln issued the following 

PROCLAMATION. 

Whereas^ the laws of the United States have been for some 
time past and now are opposed, and the execution thereof ob- 
structed, in the States of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, 
Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, by combinations too 
powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial 
proceedings, or by the powers vested in the marshals by law ; 
now, therefore, I Abraham Lincoln, President of the United 
States, in virtue of the power in me vested by the Constitution 
and the laws, have thought fit to call forth, and hereby do caH 

3 



50 THE martyr's monument. 

forth, the militia of the several States of the Union to the ag- 
gregate number of 75,000, in order to suppress said combina- 
tions, and to cause the laws to be duly executed. 

The details for this object will be immediately communicated 
to the State authorities through the War Department. I ap- 
peal to all loyal citizens to favor, facilitate, and aid this effort 
to maintain the honor, the integrity, and existence of our na- 
tional Union, and the perpetuity of popular government, and to 
redress wrongs already long enough endured. I deem it proper 
to say that the first service assigned to the forces hereby called 
forth, will probably be to repossess the forts, places, and pro- 
perty which have been seized from the Union ; and in every 
event the utmost care will be observed, consistently with the 
objects aforesaid, to avoid any devastation, any destruction of, 
or interference with, property, or any disturbance of peaceful 
citizens of any part of the countiy ; and I hereby command the 
persons composing the combinations aforesaid, to disperse and 
retire peaceably to their respective abodes, within twenty days 
from this date. 

Deeming that the present condition of public affairs presents 
an extraordinary occasion, I do hereby, in virtue of the power 
in- me vested by the Constitution, convene both houses of Con- 
gress. The Senators and Representatives are, therefore, sum- 
moned to assemble at their respective chambers at twelve 
o'clock, noon, on Thursday, the fourth day of July next, then 
and there to consider and determine such measures as, in their 
wisdom, the pulbic safety and interest may seem to demand. 

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused 
the seal of the United States to be affixed. 

Done at the City of "Washington, this fifteenth day of April, 
in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty- 
one, and of the independence of the United States the eighty- 
fifth. 

By the President^ Abraham LrNCOLN. 

"William H. Sewaed, Secretary of State. 

There can be no question that the President issued the 
foregoing Proclamation with some doubt as to the maii- 



THE martyr's monument. 51 

ner in which it would be received by the country. He 
must have been somewhat surprised as well as overjoyed 
at finding that it was the occasion of an instant and 
overwhelming outburst of loyalty and devotion to the 
flag. If instead of asking for 75,000 men he had asked 
for 750,000, they would have been forthcoming. As the 
confederated insurgents had issued proposals for letters of 
marque against the commerce of the United States, the 
President, to meet them on this point, issued the following : 

PROCLAMATION. 

Whereas^ an insurrectiori against the Government of the Uni- 
ted States has broken out in the States of South Carolina, 
Georgia, Alabama, Florida, MississipjDi, Louisiana, and Texas, 
and the laws of the United States for the collection of the rev- 
enue cannot be efficiently executed therein conformable to that 
provision of the Constitution which requires duties to be uni- 
form throughout the United States : 

And ichereas a combination of persons, engaged in such in- 
surrection, have threatened to grant pretended letters of marque 
to authorize" the bearers thereof to commit assaults on the lives, 
vessels, and f>roperty of the good citizens of the countiy, law- 
fully engaged in commerce on the high seas, and in waters of 
the United States : 

And whereas an Executive Proclamation has been already 
issued, requiring the persons engaged in these disorderly pro- 
ceedings to desist therefrom, calling out a militia force for the 
purpose of repressing the same, and convening Congress in ex- 
traordinary session to deliberate and determine thereon : 

Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United 
States, with a view to the same purposes before mentioned, 
and to the protection of the public peace, and the lives and 
property of quiet and orderly citizens pursuing their lawful 
occupations, until Congress shall have assembled and deliber- 
ated on the said unlawful proceedings, or until the same shall 
have ceased, have further deemed it advisable to set on foot a 



52 THE martyr's monument. 

blockade of the ports within the States aforesaid, in pursuance 
of the laws of the United States and of the lav\'s of nations in 
such cases provided. For this purpose, a competent force will 
be posted so as to prevent entrance and exit of vessels from 
the ports aforesaid. If, therefore, with a view to violate such 
blockade, a vessel shall approach, or shall attempt to leave any 
of the said ports, she will be duly warned by the commander 
of one of the blockading vessels, who will endorse on her reg- 
ister the fact and date of such warning ; and if the same vessel 
shall again attempt to leave or enter the blockaded port, she 
will be captured and sent to the nearest convenient port, for 
such proceedings against her and her cargo as prize, as may be 
deemed advisable. 

And I here]>y proclaim and declare, that if any person, under 
the pretended authority of such States, or under any other 
pretence, shall molest a vessel of the United States, or the per- 
sons or cargo on board of her, such persons will be held amena- 
ble to the laws of the United States for the prevention and 
punishment of piracy. 

By the President, Abkaham Lincoln. 

William H. Seward, Secretary of State. 

Washington, April 19, 1861. 

The consequences of the attack upon Fort Sumter 
were in the Slave States just what the insurgent leaders 
expected. Virginia was thrown immediately (on the 
17th of April) into the hands of the insurgents. Ten- 
nessee soon followed, her Union majority being for the 
moment overborne by the audacity of the secessionists. 
But Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri, although pro- 
foundly agitated, were kept within the pale of the Union. 
It is needless here to recount the exciting scenes which 
took place in the first of these States, and especially in 
Baltimore, immediately after the issuing of the Procla- 
mation of April 15th, or the manner in which, by the wis- 
dom and forbearance of Mr. Lincoln, and the sagacity 



THE martyr's monument. 53 

and energetic action of General Butler, Maryland was 
prevented from falling into the hands of the audacious 
minority -who -wished to side with the insurgents. The 
Governor of this State in his perplexity at the novel con- 
dition of public affairs, so far forgot himself as to propose 
to Mr. Lincoln that the dispute between the Government 
and the rebels should be referred to the British Minister 
for arbitration. To this the following reply was made 
for Mr. Lincoln by Mr. Seward : 

If eighty years could have obliterated all the other noble sen- 
timents of that age [1776] in Maryland, the President would 
be hopeful, nevertheless, that there is one that would forever 
remain there and everywhere. That sentiment is, that no do- 
mestic contention whatever that may arise among the parties 
of this republic, ought in any case to be referred to any foreign 
arbitrament, least of all to the arbitrament of a European 
monarchy. 

And here may be properly introduced the following 
extract of a despatch from Mr. Seward to Mr. Adams, 
dated April 10th, 1865, in which the bold and compre- 
hensive policy of Mr. Lincoln's administration in regard 
to our foreign relations, which was maintained without 
swerving throughout the \Yar, is clearly set forth. 

POSITION ASSUMED TOWARDS FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS. 

Before considering the arguments you are to use, it is impor- 
tant to indicate those which you are not to emjDloy in executing 
that mission : 

First. The President has noticed, as the whole American peo- 
ple have, with much emotion, the expressions of good-will and 
friendship toward the United States, and of concern for their 
present embarrassments, which have been made on apt occa. 
Bions, by her Majesty and her ministers. You will make due 



54 THE martyr's monument. 

ackno vYledgments for these manifestations, but at the same time 
you will not rely on any mere sympathies or national kindness. 
You will make no admissions of weakness in our Constitution, 
or of apprehension on the part of the Government. You will 
rather prove, as you easily can, by comparing the history of our 
country with that of other States, that its Constitution and 
Government are really the strongest and surest which have ever 
been erected for the safety of any people. You will in no case 
listen to any suggestion of compromise by this Government, 
under foreign auspices, with its discontented citizens. If, as the 
President does not at all apprehend, you shall unhappily find 
her Majesty's Government tolerating the application of the 
so-called seceding States, or wavering about it, you will not 
leave them to suppose for a moment that they can grant that 
application and remain the friends of the United States. You 
may even assure them jDromptly, in that case, that if they deter- 
mine to recognize, they may at once prepare to enter into an 
alliance with the enemies of this republic. You alone will rep- 
resent your country at London, and you will represent the v/hole 
of it there. When you are asked to divide that duty with 
others, diplomatic relations between the Government of Great 
Britain and this Government will be suspended, and will remain 
so until it shall be seen which of the two is most strongly 
intrenched in the confidence of their respective nations and of 
mankind. 

You will not be allowed, however, even if you were disposed, 
as the President is sure you will not be, to rest your opposition 
to the application of the Confederate States on the ground of 
any favor this Administration, or the party which chiefly called 
it into existence, proposes to show to Great Britain, or claims 
that Great Britain ought to show them. You will not consent 
to draw into debate before the British Government any oppos- 
ing moral principles which may l^e supposed to lie at the foun- 
dation of the controversy between those States and the Federal 
Union. 

You will indulge in no expressions of harshness or disrespect, 
or even impatience, concerning the seceding States, their agents, 
or their people. But you will, on the contrarv, all the while 



THE martyr's monument. 55 

remember that those States are now, as they always heretofore 
have been, and, notwithstanding their temporary self-delusion, 
they must always continue to be, equal and honored members 
of this Federal Union, and that their citizens throughout all 
political misunderstandings and alienations still are and always 
must be our kindred and countrymen. In short, all your argu- 
ments must belong to one of three classes, namely : First Argu- 
ments dra^yn from the principles of public law and natural 
justice, which regulate the intercourse of equal States, Sec- 
ondly. Arguments which concern equally the honor, welfare, and 
happiness of the discontented States, and the honor, welfare, 
and happiness of the whole Union. Thirdly. Arguments which 
are equally conservative of the rights and interests, and even 
sentiments of the United States, and just in their bearing upon 
the rights, interests, and sentiments of Great Britain and all 
other nations. 

That paper purports to contain a decision at which the British 
Government has arrived, to the effect that this country is divided 
into two belligerent parties, of which this Government rejDrfcsents 
one, and that Great Britain assumes the attitude of a neutral 
between them. 

This Government could not, consistently with a just regard 
for the sovereig-nty of the United States, permit itself to debate 
these novel and extraordinary positions with the Government 
of her Britannic Majesty ; much less can we consent that that 
Government shall announce to us a decision derogating from 
that sovereignty, at v/iiich it has arrived without pre\dously 
conferring with us upon the question. The United States are 
still solely and exclusively sovereign within the territories they 
have lawfully acquired and long possessed, as they have always 
been. They are at pexice with all the world, as, with unimpor- 
tant exceptions, they have always been. They are living under 
the obligations of the law of nations, and of treaties vrith 
Great Britain, just the same now as heretofore; they are, of 
course, the friends of Great Britain, and they insist that Great 
Britain shall remain their friends now, just as she has hitherto 
been. Great Britain, by virtue of these relations, is a stranger 
to parties and sections in this country, whether they are loyal 



56 THE martyr's monument. 

to the United States or not, and Great Britain can neither right- 
fully qualify the sovereignty of the United States, nor concede, 
nor recognize any rights, or interestSj or power of any party, 
State, or section, in contravention to the unbroken sovereignty 
of the Federal Union. What is now seen in this country is the 
occurrence, by no means peculiar, but frequent in all countries, 
more frequent even in Great Britain than here, of an armed 
insurrection engaged in attempting to overthrow the regularly 
constituted and established Government. There is, of course, 
the employment of force by the Government to suppress the 
insurrecti(m, as every other government necessarily employs 
force in such cases. But these incidents by no means constitute 
a state of war impairing the sovereig-nty of the Government, 
creating belligerent sections, and entitling foreign States to inter- 
vene, or to act as neutrals between them, or in any other way 
to cast off their lawful obligations to the nation thus for the 
moment disturbed. Any other principle than this would be to 
resolve government eveiywhere into a thing of accident and 
caprice, and ultimately all human society into a state of per- 
petual war. 

We do not go into any argument of fact or of law in support 
of the position we have thus assumed. They are simply the 
suggestions of the instinct of self-defence, the primary law of 
human action — not more the law of individual than of national 
life. 

The same proclamation which called for a volunteer 
armj summoned an extra session of Congress, to take 
such measures as were required by the extraordinary 
state of the country. Congress assembled on the 4th of 
July, and received from the President the following 
Message, in which he set forth in detail the events which 
had made it neceszary for him to call the Houses to- 
gether. The document is remarkable not only for the 
calm, judicial tone which the writer preserved in it in 
the midst of such a period of excitement, but for the 



THE martyr's monument. 57 

clearness with which it sets forth those views of the con- 
stitutional questions involved in the struggle just begun, 
which were sustained in the end by the soundest intel- 
lect in the country as well as by the whole mass of the 
people. 
» 

MESSAGE TO THE SPECIAL SESSION OF CONGRESS, 
JULY 4th, 1861. 

Felloio- Citizens of the Senate and House of Bepresentatiioes — 
Haying been convened on an extraordinary occasion, as author- 
ized by the constitution, your attention is not called to any 
ordinary subject of legislation. 

At the beginning of the present presidential term, four months 
ago, the functions of the Federal Government were found to be 
generally suspended within the several States of South Carolina, 
Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Florida, except- 
ing only those of the Post-Office Department. 

Within these States all the forts, arsenals, dock-yards, custom- 
houses and the like, including the movable and stationary 
property in and about them, had been seized, and were held in 
open hostility to this Government, exce23ting only Forts Pick- 
ens, Taylor, and Jefferson, on and near the Florida coast, and 
Fort Sumter, in Charleston harbor. South Carolina. The forts 
thus seized had been put in improved condition, new ones had 
been built, and armed forces had been organized and were 
organizing, all avowedly for the same hostile purj)ose. 

The forts remaining in the possession of the Federal Govern- 
ment in and near these States were either besieged or menaced 
by warlike preparations, and especially Fort Sumter was 
nearly surrounded by well-protected hostile batteries, with guns 
equal in quality to the best of its own, and outnumbering the 
latter as perhaps ten to one. A disproportionate share of the 
Federal muskets and rifles had somehow found their way into 
these States, and had been seized to be used against the Govern- 
ment. Accumulations of the public revenue, lying within them, 
had been seized for the same object. The Navy was scattered 



58 THE martyr's monument. 

in distant seas, leaving but a very small part of it within the 
immediate reach of the Government. Officers of the Federal 
Army and Navy had resigned in great numbers ; and of those 
resigning, a large proportion had taken up arms against the 
Government. Simultaneously, and in connection with all this, 
the purpose to sever the Federal Union was openly avowed. In 
accordance mth this purpose, an ordinance had been adopted 
in each of these States, declaiing the States, respectively, to be 
separated from the National Union. A formula for instituting 
a combined government of these States had been promulgated ; 
and this illegal organization, in the character of Confederate 
States, was already invoking recognition, aid, and intervention 
from foreign Powers. 

Finding this condition of things, and believmg it to be an 
imperative duty upon the incoming Executive to prevent, if 
possible, the consummation of such attempt to destroy the Fed- 
eral Union, a choice of means to that end became indispensable. 
This choice was made, and was declared in the Inaugural Address. 
The policy chosen looked to the exhaustion of all peaceful meas- 
ures before a resort to any stronger ones. It sought only to 
hold the public places and property not already wrested from the 
Government, and to collect the revenue, relying for the rest on 
time, discussion, and the ballot-box. It promised a contin- 
uance of the mails, at Government expense, to the very people 
who were resisting the Government; and it gave repeated 
pledges against any disturbance to any of the people, or any 
their rights. Of all that which a President might constitution- 
ally and justifiably do in such a case, everything was forborne, 
without which it was believed possible to keep the Government 
on foot. 

On the 5th of March (the present mcumbent's first full day 
in office,) a letter of Major Anderson, commanding at Fort Sum- 
ter, written on the 28th of February, and received at the War 
Department on the 4th of March, was by that Department 
placed in his hands. This letter expressed the professional opin- 
ion of the writer, that reinforcements could not be throvm into 
that fort within the time for his relief, rendered necessary by 
the limited supply of provisions, and with a view of holding 



THE martyr's monument. 69 

possession of the same, witli a force of less tlian twenty thousand 
good and well-disciplined men. This opinion was concurred in 
by all the officers of his command, and their memmrinda on the 
subject were made enclosures of Major Anderson's letter. The 
whole was immediately laid before Lieutenant-General Scott, 
■who at once concurred with Major Anderson in opinion. On 
reflection, however, he took full time, consulting with other 
officers, both of the army and the navy ; and at the end of four 
days came reluctantly, but decidedly, to the same conclusion as 
before. He also stated at the same time that no such sufficient 
force was then at the control of the Government, or could be 
raised and brought to the ground within the time when the 
provisions in the fort would be exhausted. In a purely mili- 
tary point of view, this reduced the duty of the Administration in 
the case to the mere matter of getting the garrison out of the fort. 
It was believed, however, that to so abandon that position, un- 
der the circumstances, would be utterly ruinous ; that the neces- 
sity- under which it was to be done would not be fully understood ; 
that by many it would be construed as a part of a voluntary 
policy ; that at home it would discourage the friends of the 
Union, embolden its adversaries, and go far to insure to the lat- 
ter a recognition abroad ; that in fact, it would be our national 
destruction consummated. This could not be allowed. Star- 
vation was not yet upon the garrison ; and ere it would be 
reached Fort Pickens might be reinforced. This would be a 
clear indication of policy, and would better enable the country 
to accept the evacuation of Fort Sumter as a military necessity. 
An order w^as at once directed to be sent for the landing of the 
troops from the steamship Brooklyn into Fort Pickens. This 
order could not go by land, but must take the longer and slower 
route by sea. The first return news from the order was re- 
ceived just one w^eek before the fall of Fort Sumter. The news 
itself W'as that the officer commanding the Sabine, to which 
vessel the troops had been transferred from the Brooklyn, act- 
ing upon some quad armistice of the late Administration (and 
of the existence of which the present Administration, up to the 
time the order was desjDatched, had only too vague and uncer- 
tain rumors to fix attention), had refused to land the troops. 



60 THE martyr's monument. 

To now reinforce Fort Pickens before a crisis would be reached 
at Fort Sumter was impossible— rendered so by the near exhaus- 
tion of provisions in the latter-named fort. , In precaution 
against such a conjuncture, the Government had a few days before 
commenced preparing an expedition, as well adapted as might 
be, to relieve Fort Sumter, which expedition was intended to 
be ultimately used or not, according to circumstances. The 
strongest anticipated case for using it was now presented, and 
it was resolved to send it forward. As had been intended in 
this contingency, it was also resolved to notify the Governor 
of South Carolina, that he might expect an attempt would be 
made to provision the fort ; and that, if the attempt should not 
be resisted, there would be no effort to throw in men, arms, or 
ammunition, without further notice, or in case of an attack upon 
the fort. This notice was accordingly given ; whereupon the 
fort was attacked and bombarded to its fall, without even await- 
ing the arrival of the provisioning expedition. 

It is thus seen that the assault upon and reduction of Fort 
Sumter was in no sense a matter of self-defence ujjon the part 
of the assailants. They well knev^^that the garrison in the fort 
could by no possibility commit aggression upon them. They 
knew — they were expressly notified — that the giving of bread 
to the few brave and hungry men of the garrison was all which 
would on that occasion be attempted, unless themselves, by re- 
sisting so much, should provoke more. They knew ^hat this 
Government desired to keep the garrison in the fort, not to as- 
sail them, but to maintain visible possession, and thus to pre- 
serve the Union from actual and immediate dissolution — trust- 
ing, as hereinbefore stated, to time, discussion, and the ballot-box 
for final adjustment; and they assailed and reduced the fort for 
precisely the reverse object— to drive out the visible authority 
of the Federal Union, and thus force it to immediate dissolution. 
That this was their object the Executive well understood ; and 
having said to them in the Inaugural Address, " You can have 
no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors," he took 
pains not only to keep this declaration good, but also to keep 
the case so free from the pov»^er of ingenious sophistiy that the 
worid should not be able to misunderstand it. By the affaii* 



THE martyr's monument. 61 

at Fort Sumter, M'itb its surrounding circumstances, that point 
was reached. Then and thereby the assailants of the Govern- 
ment began the conflict of arms, without a gun in sight, or in 
expectancy to return their fire, save only the few in the fort, 
sent to that harbor years before for their own protection, and 
still ready to give that protection in whatever was lawful. In 
this act, discarding all else, they have forced upon the countiy 
the distinct issue, " immediate dissolution or blood." 

And this issue embraces more than the fate of these United 
States, It presents to the whole family of man the question, 
whether a constitutional rej)ublic or democracy — a government 
of the people by the same people — can or cannot maintain its 
territorial integrity against its own domestic foes. It presents 
the question, whether discontented individuals, too few in num- 
bers to control administration, according to organic law, in any 
case, can always, upon the pretences made in this c^se or on 
any other pretences, or arbitrarily, without any pretenc^. break 
up their Government, and thus practically put an end to free 
government upon the earth. It forces us to ask, " Is th^re, in 
all republics, this inherent and fatal weakness?" "]Mast a 
government, of necessity, be too strong for the liberties' of its 
ov>Ti people, or too weak to maintain its own existence ?" 

So viewing the issue, no choice was left l}ut to call out the 
war power of the Government ; and so, to resist force employed 
for its destruction by force for its preservation. 

The call was made, and the response of the country was most 
gratifying, surpassing in unanimity and spirit the most sanguine 
expectation. Yet none of the States commonly called Slave 
States, except Delaware, gave a regiment through regular State 
organization. A few regiments have been organized within 
some others of those States by individual enterprise, and re- 
ceived into the Government service. Of course, the seceded 
States, so called (and to which Texas had been joined about the 
time of the inauguration), gave no troops to the cause of the 
Union. The Border States, so called, were not uniform in their 
action, some of them being almost for the Union, while in others 
— as Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas — the 
Union sentiment was nearly repressed and silenced. The course 



taken in Yirgina was the most remarkable— perhaps the most 
important. A convention, elected by the people of that State 
to consider this very question of disrupting the Federal Union, 
was in session at the capital of Virginia when Fort Sumter fell. 
To this body the people had chosen a large majority of pro- 
fessed Union men. Almost immediately after the fall of Sumter 
many members of that majority went over to the original dis- 
imion minority, and with them adopted an ordinance for with- 
drawing the State from the Union. Wiiether this change was 
wrought by their great approval of the assault upon Sumter, or 
their great resentment at the Government's resistance to that 
assault is not definitely known. Although they submitted the 
ordinance for ratification to a vote of the people, to be taken on 
a day then somewhat more than a month distant, the Conven- 
tion and the Legislature (which was also in session at the same 
time and place), with leading men of the State not members of 
either, immediately commenced acting as if the State were al- 
ready out of the Union. They pushed military preparations 
vigorously forward all over the State. They seized the United 
States armory at Harper's Ferry, and the navy-yard at Gosport, 
near Norfolk. They received — perhaps invited — into their 
State large bodies of troops, with their warlike appointments 
from the so-called seceded States. They formally entered into a 
treaty of temporary alliance and co-operation with the so- 
called " Confederate States," and sent members to their Congress 
at Montgomery ; and, finally, they permitted the insurrectionary 
government to be transferred to their capital at Richmond. 

The people of Virginia have thus allowed this giant insurrec- 
tion to make its nest within her borders ; and this Government 
has no choice left but to deal with it where it finds it. And it 
has the less regret, as loyal citizens have in due form claimed 
its protection. Those loyal citizens this Government is bound 
to recog-nize and j^rotect as being Virginia. 

In the Border States, so-called — in fact, the Middle States — 
there are those who favor a policy which they call " armed 
neutrality" — ^that is, an arming of those States to prevent the 
Union forces passing one way, or the disunion the other, over 
their soil. This would be disunion comi^leted. Figurative- 



THE martyr's monument. 63 

ly speaking, it would be the building of an impassable wall 
along the line of separation — and yet not quite an impassable 
one, for, imder the guise of neutrality, it would tie the hands 
of Union men, and freely pass supplies from among them to 
the insurrectionists, which it could not do as an open enemy. 
At a stroke it would take all the trouble off the hands of seces- 
sion, except only what proceeds from the external blockade. It 
would do for the disunionists that which of all things they 
most desire — feed them well, and give them disunion without a 
struggle of their own. It recognizes no fidelity to the Consti- 
tution, no obligation to maintain the Union; and while very 
many who have favored it are doubtless loyal citizens, it is, 
nevertheless, very injurious in effect. 

Recurring to the action of the Government, it may be stated 
that at first a call was made for seventy-five thousand militia ; 
and rapidly following this, a proclamation was issued for closing 
the ports of the insurrectionary districts by proceedings in the 
nature of a blockade. So far all was believed to be strictly 
legal. At this point the insurrectionists announced their pur- 
pose to enter upon the practice of privateeiing. 

Other calls were made for volunteers to serve for three year? 
unless sooner discharged, and also for large additions to the 
regular army and navy. These measures, whether strictly legal 
or not, were ventured upon under what appeared to be a pop- 
ular demand and a public necessity ; trusting then, as now, that 
Congress would readily ratify them. It is believed that noth- 
ing has been done beyond the constitutional competency of 
Congress. 

Soon after the first call for militia, it was considered a duty 
to authorize the Commanding-General, in proper cases, accord- 
ing to his discretion, to suspend the privilege of the writ of 
habeas coi-pus, or, in other words, to arrest and detain, T\'ithout 
resort to the ordinary processes and forms of law, such individ- 
uals as he might deem dangerous to the public safety. This 
authority has purposely been exercised but very sparingly. 
Nevertheless, the legality and j^ropriety of what has been done 
under it are questioned, and the attention, of the country has 
been called to the proposition, that one who has sworn to 



64 THE martyr's monument. 

" take care that the laws be faithfully executed," should not 
himself violate them. Of course, some consideration was given 
to the question of power and propriety before this matter was 
acted upon. The whole of the laws which were required to be 
faithfully executed were being resisted, and failing of execution 
in nearly one-third of the States. Must they be allowed to 
finally fail of execution, even had it been perfectly clear that 
by the use of the means necessary to their execution some sin- 
gle law, made in such extreme tenderness of the citizen's liberty 
that practically it relieves more of the guilty than of the inno- 
cent, should to a very limited extent be violated ? To state 
the question more directly : Are all the laws but one to go 
unexecuted, and the Government itself go to pieces, lest that one 
be violated ? Even in such a case, would not the official oath 
be broken if the Government should be overthrown, when it 
was believed that disregarding the single law would tend to 
preserve it ? But it was not believed that this question was 
presented. It was not believed that any law was violated. The 
provision of the Constitution that " the privilege of the writ 
of habeas corpus shall not be suspended unless, when, in cases 
of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it," is 
equivalent to a provision — is a provision — that such privilege 
may be suspended when, in case of rebellion or invasion, the 
public safety does require it. It was decided that we have a 
case of rebellion, and that the public safety does require the 
qualified suspension of the privilege of the writ, which was 
authorized to be made. Now, it is insisted that Congress, and 
not the Executive, is vested with this power. But the Con- 
stitution itself is silent as to which or who is to exercise the 
power ; and as the provision was plainly made for a dangerous 
emergency, it cannot be believed the framers of the instrument 
intended that in every case the danger should run its course 
until Congress could be called together, the very assembling of 
which might be prevented, as was intended in this case, by the 
rebellion. 

No more extended argument is now ofiered, as an opinion, at 
some length, will probably be presented by the Attorney-Gen- 
eral. Whether there shall be any legislation on the subject 



THE martyr's monument. 65 

and, if any, what, is submitted entirely to the better judgment 
of Congress. 

The forbearance of this Government has been so extraordi- 
nary, and so long continued, as to lead some foreign nations to 
shape their action as if they supposed the early destruction of 
our national Union was probable. While this, on discovery, 
gave the Executive some concern, he is now happy to say that 
the sovereignty and rights of the United States are now every- 
where practically respected by foreign powers ; and a general 
sympathy T\dth the country is manifested throughout the world. 

The reports of the Secretaries of the Treasury, War, and the 
Navy, will give the information in detail deemed necessary and 
convenient for your deliberation and action ; while the Execu- 
tive and all the Departments will stand ready to supply omis- 
sions, or to communicate new facts considered important for 
you to know. 

It is now recommended that you give the legal means for 
making this contest a short and decisive one ; that you place 
at the control of the Government, for the v>'ork, at least four 
hundred thousand men and $400,000,000. That number of 
men is about one-tenth of those of proper ages within the re- 
gions where, apparently, all are willing to engage ; and the sum 
is less than a twenty-third part of the money value owned by 
the men who seem ready to devote the whole. A debt of 
$600,000,000 now, is a less sum per head than was the debt of 
our Revolution when v/e came out of that struggle ; and the 
money value in the country now bears even a greater propor- 
tion to what it was then, than does the population. Surely 
each man has as strong a motive now to preserve our liberties 
as each had then to establish them. 

A right result, at this time, will be worth more to the world 
than ten times the men and ten times the money. The evidence 
reaching us from the country leaves no doubt that the 
material for the work is abundant, and that it needs only the 
hand of legislation to give it legal sanction, and the hand of 
the Executive to give it practical shape and efficiency. One of 
the greatest perplexities of the Government is to avoid receiv- 
b\g troops faster than it can provide for them. In a word. 



66 THE martyr's monument. 

tlie people will save their Government, if the Grovemment itself 
will do its part only indiflFerently well. 

It might seem, at first thought, to be of little difference 
whether the present movement at the South be called " seces- 
sion," or " rebellion." The movers, however, will understand 
the difference. At the beginning, they knew they could never 
raise their treason to any respectable magnitude by any name 
which implies violation of law. They knew their people pos- 
sessed as much of moral sense, as much of devotion to law and 
order, and as much pride in, and reverence for the history and 
Government of their common country, as any other civilized 
and patriotic people. They knew they could make no advance- 
ment directly in the teeth of these strong and noble sentiments. 
Accordingly, they commenced by an insidious debauching of 
the public mind. They invented an ingenious sophism, which, 
if conceded, was followed by perfectly logical steps, through 
all the incidents, to the complete destruction of the Union. 
The sophism itself is, that any State of the Union may, con- 
sistently Avith the national Constitution, and therefore lawfully 
and peacefully, withdraw from the Union without the consent 
of the Union, or of any other State. The little disguise that 
the supposed right is to be exercised only for just cause, them- 
selves to be the sole judges of its justice, is too thin to merit 
any notice. 

With rebellion thus sugar-coated they have been drugging 
the public mind of their section for more than thirty years, and 
until at length they have brought many good men to a willing- 
ness to take up arms against the Government the day after some 
assemblage of men have enacted the farcical pretence of taking 
their State out of the Union, who could have been brought to 
no such thing the day before. 

This sophism derives much, perhaps the whole, of its curren- 
cy from the assumption that there is some omnipotent and sa- 
cred supremacy pertaining to a State — to each State of our 
Federal Union. Our States have neither more nor less power 
than that reserved to them in the Union by the Constitution — 
no one of them ever having been a State out of the Union. 
The original ones passed into the Union even before they cast 



THE martyr's monument. 67 

off their British colonial dependence ; and the new ones each 
came into the Union directly from a condition of dependence, 
excepting Texas. And even Texas, in its temporary indepen- 
dence, was never designated a State. The new ones only took 
the designation of States on coming into the Union, while that 
name was first adopted by the old ones in and by the Declara- 
tion of Independence. Therein the " United Colonies" were 
declared to be "free and independent States;" but, even then, 
the object plainly was not to declare their independence of one 
another, or of the Union, but directly the contrary ; as their 
mutual pledge and their mutual action before, at the time, and 
afterwards, abundantly show. The express plighting of faith 
by each and all of the original thirteen in the Articles of Con- 
federation, two years later, that the Union shall be perpetual, 
is most conclusive. Ha"sdng never been States, either in sub- 
stance or in name, outside of the Union, whence this magical 
omnipotence of " State rights," asserting a claim of power to 
lawfully destroy the Union itself? Much is said about the 
"sovereignty" of the States; but the word even is not in the 
national Constitution ; nor, as is believed, in any of the State 
constitutions. What is " sovereignty" in the political sense of 
the term ? "Would it be far wrong to define it " a political 
community without a political superior?" Tested by this, 
no one of our States, except Texas, ever was a sovereignty. 
And even Texas gave up the character on coming into the 
Union ; by which act she acknowledged the Constitution of the 
United States and the laws and treaties of the United States 
made in pursuance of the Constitution, to be for her the supreme 
law of the land. The States have their status in the Union, and 
they have no other legal status. If they break from this, they 
can only do so against law and by revolution. The Union, and 
not themselves, separately, procured their independence and 
their liberty. By conquest or purchase the Union gave each of 
them whatever of independence or liberty it has. The Union 
is older than any of the States, and, in fact, it created them as 
States. Originally some dependent colonies made the Union, 
and, in turn, the Union threw off their old dependence for 
them, and made them States, such as they are. Not one of 



68 THE martyr's monument. 

them ever had a State constitution independent of the Union. 
Of course, it is not forgotten that all the new States framed 
their constitutions before they entered the Union ; nevertheless 
dependent upon, and preparatory to, coming into the Union. 

Unquestionably the States have the powers and rights reserved 
to them in and by the national Constitution ; but among these, 
surely, are not included all conceivable powers, however mis- 
chievous or destructive ; but, at most, such only as were known 
in the world, at the time, as governmental powers; and, cer- 
tainly, a power to destroy the Government itself had never 
been known as a governmental — as a merely administrative 
power. This relative matter of national power and State rights, 
as a principle, is no other than the principle of generality and 
locality. Whatever concerns the whole should be confided to 
the whole — to the General Government ; while whatever con- 
cerns only the State should be left exclusively to the State. 
This is all there is of original principle about it. Wliether the 
national Constitution in defining boundaries between the two 
has applied the principle with exact accuracy, is not to be ques- 
tioned. We are all bound by that defining, without question. 

What is now combated, is the position that secession is con- 
sistent with the Constitution — is lawful and peaceful. It is not 
contended that there is any express law for it; and nothing 
should ever be implied as law which leads to unjust or absurd 
consequences. The nation j^urchased with money the countries 
out of which several of these States were formed ; is it just 
that they shall go ofl' without leave and Tvithout refunding ? 
The nation paid very large sums (in the aggregate, I believe, 
nearly a hundred millions) to relieve Florida of the aboriginal 
tribes ; is it just that she shall now be off without consent, or 
■v\dthout making any return ? The nation is now in debt for 
money applied to the benefit of these so-called seceding States 
in common with the rest ; is it just either that creditors shall 
go unpaid, or the remaining States pay the whole ? A j)art of 
the present national debt was contracted to pay the old debts 
of Texas ; is it just that she shall leave and i^ay no part of this 
herself? 

Again, if one State may secede, so may another ; and when 



THE martyr's monument. 69 

all shall have seceded, none is left to pay the debts. Is this 
quite just to creditors ? Did vre notify them of this sage view 
of ours when we borrowed their money ? If we noT\^ recognize 
this doctrine by allowing the seceders to go in peace, it is diffi- 
cult to see what we can do if others choose to go, or to extort 
terms upon which they will promise to remain. 

The seceders insist that our constitution admits of secession. 
They have assumed to make a national constitution of their 
own, in which, of necessity, they have either discarded or 
retained the right of secession, as they insist it exists in ours. 
If they have discarded it, they thereby admit that, on principle, 
it ought not to exist in ours. If they have retained it, by their 
own construction of ours, they show that to be consistent they 
must secede from one another whenever they shall find it the 
easiest way of settling their debts, or effecting any other selfish 
or unjust object. The princiiDle itself is one of disintegration, 
and upon which no government can possibly endure. 

If all the States save one should assert the power to drive 
that one out of the Union, it is presumed the whole class of 
seceder politicians would at once deny the power, and denounce 
the act as the greatest outrage uj)on State rights. But suppose 
that precisely the same act, instead of being called " driving 
the one out," should be called " the seceding of the others from 
that one," it would be exactly what the seceders claim to do ; 
unless, indeed, they make the point that the one, because it is a 
minority, may rightfully do what the others, because they are a 
majority, may not rightfully do. These politicians are subtile 
and profound on the rights of minorities. They are not partial 
to that power which made the Constitution, and speaks from 
the preamble, calling itself " We, the People." 

It may well be questioned w^hether there is to-day a majority 
of the legally qualified voters of any State, except, perhaps. 
South Carolina, in favor of disunion. There is much reason to 
believe that the Union men are the majority in many, if not in 
every other one, of the so-called seceded States. The contrary 
has not been demonstrated in any one of them. It is ventured to 
affirm this even of Virginia and Tennessee ; for the result of 
an election held in military camps, where the bayonets are all 



70 THE 

on one side of tlie question voted upon, can scarcely be consid- 
ered as demonstrating popular sentiment. At such an election, 
all that large class who are at once for the Union and against 
coercion would be coerced to vote against the Union. 

It may be affirmed without extravagance, that the free insti- 
tutions we enjoy have developed the powers and improved the 
condition of our whole people beyond any example in the 
world. Of this we now have a striking and impressive illustra- 
tion. So large an army as the Government has now on foot was 
never before known without a soldier in it but who had taken 
his place there of his own free choice. But more than this ; 
there are many single regiments whose members, one and another, 
possess full practical knowledge of all the arts, sciences, profes- 
sions, and whatever else, whether useful or elegant, is known in 
the world ; and there is scarcely one from which there could 
not be selected a President, a Cabinet, a Congress, and perhaps 
a court, abundantly competent to administer the Government 
itself. Nor do I say this is not true also in the army of our late 
friends, now adversaries in this contest ; but if it is, so much 
better the reason why the Government which has conferred such 
benefits on both them and us, should not be broken up. Who- 
ever, in any section, proposes to abandon such a Government, 
would do well to consider in deference to what principle it is 
that he does it ; what better he is likely to get in its stead ; 
whether the substitute will give, or be intended to give, so much 
of good to the people ? There are some foreshado wings on this 
subject. Our adversaries have adopted some declarations of 
independence, in which, unlike the good old one, penned by 
Jefferson, they omit the words, " all men are created equal." 
Why ? They have adopted a temporary national constitution, 
in the preamble of which, unlike our good old one, signed by 
Washington, they omit " We, the people," and substitute '' We, 
the deputies of the sovereign and independent States." Why ? 
Why this deliberate pressing out of view the rights of men and 
the authority of the people ? 

This is essentially a people's contest. On the side of the 
Union it is a struggle for maintaining in the world that form 
and substance of government whose leading object is to elevate 



THE martyr's monument. 71 

the condition of men ; to lift artificial weiglits from all shoul- 
ders ; to clear the paths of laudable pursuits for ail ; to afford 
all an unfettered start and a fair chance in the race of life. 
Yielding to partial and temporary departures, from necessity, 
this is the leading object of the Government for whose existence 
we contend. 

I am most happy to believe that the plain people understand 
and appreciate this. It is worthy of note, that while in this 
the Government's hour of trial, large numbers of those in the 
army and navy who have been favored with the offices have 
resigned and proved false to the hand which had pampered 
them, not one common soldier or common sailor is known to 
have deserted his flag. 

Great honor is due to those officers who remained true, despite 
the example of their treacherous associates ; but the greatest 
honor, and most important fact of all, is the unanimous firmness 
of the common soldiers and common sailors. To the last man, 
so far as known, they have successfully resisted the traitorous 
efforts of those whose commands but an hour before they obeyed 
as absolute law. This is the patriotic instmct of plain people. 
They understand, without an argument, that the destroying the 
Government which was made by Washington means no good 
to them. 

Our popular Government has often been called an experiment. 
Two points in it our people have already settled — the success- 
ful establishing and the successful administering of it. One 
still remains — its successful maintenance against a formidable 
internal attempt to overthrow it. It is now for them to demon- 
strate to the world that those who can fairly carry an election 
can also suppress a rebellion ; that ballots are the rightful and 
peaceful successors of bullets ; and that when ballots have fairly 
and constitutionally decided, there can be no successful appeal 
back to bullets ; that there can be no successful appeal, except 
to ballots themselves, at succeeding elections. Such will be a 
great lesson of peace; teaching men that what they can not 
take by an election, neither can they take by a war ; teaching 
all the folly of being the beginners of a war. 

Lest there be some uneasiness in the minds of candid men as 



72 THE martyr's monument. 

to what is to be the course of the Government toward the 
Southern States after the rebellion shall have been suppressed, 
the Executive deems it proper to say, it will be his purpose 
then, as ever, to be guided by the Constitution and the laws ; 
and that he probably will have no different understanding of 
the powers and duties of the Federal Government relatively to 
the rights of the States and the people under the Constitution 
than that expressed in the inaugural address. 

He desired to preserve the Government, that it may be ad- 
ministered for all, as it was administered by the men who made 
it. Loyal citizens everywhere have the right to claim this of 
theii' Government, and the Government has no right to withhold 
or neglect it. It is not perceived that in giving it there is any 
coercion, any conquest, or any subjugation, in any just sense of 
those terms. 

The Constitution provides, and all the States have accepted 
the provision, that "the United States shall guarantee to every 
State in this Union a republican form of Government." But if 
a State may lawfully go out of the Union, having done so it 
may also discard the republican form of Government ; so that 
to prevent its going out is an indispensable means to the end of 
maintaining the guarantee mentioned ; and when an end is lawful 
and obligatory, the indispensable means to it are also law^ful 
and obligatory. 

It was with the deepest regret that the Executive found the 
duty of employing the war power in defence of the Government 
forced upon him. He could but perform this duty or surrender 
the existence of the Government. No compromise by public 
servants could in this case be a cure ; not that compromises are 
not often proper, but that no popular Government can long sur- 
vive a marked precedent that those who carry an election can 
only save the Government from immediate destruction by giving 
up the main point upon which the people gave the election. 
The people themselves, and not their servants, can safely reverse 
their own deliberate decisions. 

As a private citizen the Executive could not have consented 
that these institutions shall perish ; much less could he, in be- 
trayal of so vast and so sacred a trust as these free people 



THE maktyr's monument. 73 

have confided to him. He felt that he had no moral right to 
Bhiink, or even to count the chances of his own life, in what 
might follow. In full view of his great responsibility he has 
so far done what he has deemed his duty. You will now, ac- 
cording to your own judgment, perform yours. He sincerely 
hojDes that your views and your action may so accord with his 
as to assure all faithful citizens who have been disturbed in 
their rights of a certain and speedy restoration to them, under 
the Constitution and the laws. 

And ha^dng thus chosen our course, without guile and with 
pure purpose, let us renew our trust in God, and go forward 
without fear and with manly hearts. 

July 4, 1861. Abraham Lencoln. 

BORDER STATE POLICY. 

As one of the first and most important tasks of the 
Government was to prevent the Border States from being 
placed in the power of the secessionists, so one of Mr. 
Lincoln's severest trials in the first year of his Adminis- 
tration was so to meet and check the moves of the lead- 
ing men in those States, who were at heart with Jefferson 
Davis, that he would not irritate the sullen, or excite the 
lukewarm to open opposition. The following letter which 
explains itself fully, is a good example of the quiet man- 
ner in which he showed these men that he understood, 
and would withstand them. 

REPLY TO GOVERNOR MAGOFFIN, OF KENTUCKY. 

Washington, D, C, August 24, 1S61. 

To His Excellmcy B. Magoffin, Ooverno7' of the State of Ken- 
tucky — Sir: — Your letter of the 19th inst., in which you "urge 
the removal from the limits of Kentucky of the military force 
now organized and in camp within that State," is received. 

I may not possess full and precisely accurate knowledge upon 
this subject, but I believe it is true that there is a military force in 
camp within Kentuckv, acting by authority of the United States, 

4 



74 THE martyr's monument. 

which force is not very large, and is not now being augmented. 
I also believe that some arms have been furnished to this force 
by the United States. 

I also believe that this force consists exclusively of Kentuck- 
ians, having their camp in the immediate vicinity of their own 
homes, and not assailing or menacing any of the good people 
of Kentucky. 

In all I have done in the premises, I have acted upon the 
urgent solicitation of many Kentuckians, and in accordance 
with what I believed, and still believe, to be the wish of a ma- 
jority of all the Union loving people of Kentucky. 

While I have conversed on the subject with many eminent 
men of Kentucky, including a large majority of her members 
of Congress, I do not remember that any one of them, or any 
other person, except your Excellency and the bearers of your 
Excellency's letter, has urged me to remove the military force 
from Kentucky or to disband it. One other very worthy citizen 
of Kentucky did solicit me to have the augmenting of the force 
suspended for a time. 

Taking all the means within my reach to form a judgment, 
I do not believe it is the popular wish of Kentucky that the 
force shall be removed beyond her limits ; and, with this im- 
pression, I must respectfully decline to remove it. 

I most cordially sympathize with your Excellency in the wish 
to preserve the peace of my own native State, Kentucky, but it 
ip with regret I search for and cannot find, in your not very 
short letter, any declaration or intimation that you entertaia 
any desire for the preservation of the Federal Union. 

Abraham Lincoln. 



But Mr. Lincoln's perplexities were not all caused by 
the malignity of the slavery propagandists. Not a few 
were created for him by the unwise impetuosity of those 
who seemed to think that there was only one question to 
be considered in the war, or rather that the war was to 
be successfully prosecuted by attacking slavery without 



75 



regard to law, or even to circumstances. Prominent 
among these was General Fremont, who assumed the re- 
sponsibility of declaring the slaves of all active partici- 
pants in the rebellion, free. This act Mr. Lincoln thought 
both ill-timed and an unwarrantable arrogation of power ; 
and he annulled it in the following letter. 

Wasiiikgton, D. C, September 11, 1861. 
Major- General Jolin C. Fremont — Sir — Yours of the 8tb, in 
answer to mme of the 2iid hast., is just received. Assured 
that you upon the ground could better judge of the necessities 
of your position than I could at this distance, on seeing your 
proclamation of August 30, I perceived no general objection to 
it ; the particular clause, however, in relation to the confiscation 
of property and the liberation of slaves apjDeared to me to be 
objectionable in its non-conformity to the act of Congress, passed 
the 6th of last August, upon' the same subjects, and hence I 
wrote you expressing my wish that that clause should be modi- 
fied accordingly. Your answer just received expresses the pref- 
erence on your part that I should make an open order for the 
modification, w^hich I very cheerfully do. It is therefore or- 
dered that the said clause of said proclamation be so modified, 
held and construed as to confirm with, and not to transcend, the 
provisions on the same subject contained in the act of Con- 
gress entitled " An Act to confiscate property used for insurrec- 
tionary purposes," approved August 6, 1861, and the said act 
be published at length with this order. Your obedient servant. 

Abiiaha]m Lincoln. 

Gen. Fremont was relieved in I^Tovember, of his com- 
mand in the Department of the West, which devolved 
upon General David Hunter. Mr. Lincoln always mod- 
estly disclaimed any military ability ; but the following 
letter, addressed to that General on the occasion of his 
taking command, was justified in all its military views 
by the subsequent course of events in that Department 
throughout the war : 



76 

LETTER TO GENERAL HUNTER. 

i "Washington, October 24, 1861. 

^^>_The command of the Department of the West having 
devolved upon you, I propose to offer you a few suggestions, 
knowing how hazardous it is to bind down a distant commander 
in the field to specific lines of operation, as so much always 
depends on the knowledge of localities and passing events. It 
is intended, therefore, to leave considerable margin for the exer- 
cise of your judgment and discretion. 

The main rebel army (Price's) west of the Mississippi is be- 
lieved to have passed Dade County in full retreat upon North- 
western Arkansas, leaving Missouri almost free from the enemy, 
excepting in the southeast jDart of the State. Assuming this 
basis of fact, it seems desirable — as you are not likely to over- 
take Price, and are in danger of making too long a line from 
your own base of supplies and reinforcements — that you should 
give up the pursuit, halt your main army, divide it into two 
corps of observation, one occupying Sedalia and the other KoUa, 
the present termini of railroads, then recruit the condition of 
both corps by re-establishing and improving their discipline 
and instruction, perfecting their clothing and equipments, and 
providing less uncomfortable quarters. Of course, both rail- 
roads must be guarded and kej3t oj)en, judiciously employing 
just so much force as is necessary for this. From these two 
two points, Sedalia and Rolla, and esi^ecially in judicious co- 
oi^eration with Lane on the Kansas border, it would be very 
easy to concentrate, and repel any army of the enemy returning 
on Missouri on the Southwest. As it is not probable any such 
attempt to return will be made before or during the approach- 
ing cold weather, before spring the people of Missouri will be 
in no favorable mood for renewing for next year the troubles 
which have so much afflicted and impoverished them during this. 

If you take this line of policy, and if, as I anticipate, you will 
see no enemy in great force approaching, you ^\-Lll have a surplus 
force which you can withdraw from those points, and direct to 
others, as may be needed— the railroads furnishing ready means 
of reinforcing those main points, if occasion requires. 

Doubtless local uprisings for a time will continue to occur, 



THE maetyr's monument. 77 

but those can be met by detachments of local forces of our own, 
and will ere long tire out of themselves. 

While, as stated at the beginning of this letter, a large dis- 
cretion must be and is left with yourself, I feel sure that an in- 
definite pursuit of Price, or an attempt by this long and circui- 
tous route to reach Memphis, will be exhaustive beyond endur- 
ance, and will end in the loss of the whole force engaged in it. 

Your obedient servant. 

The Commander of the Department of the West. ^' LINCOLN. 

THE CONGRESSIONAL SESSION OF 1861-2. 

Congress met for the second time after Mr. Lincoln's 
inauguration, OQ the 2d of December, 1861. The — 
so nearly a victory, closing in so shameful a panic — 
first battle of Manassas Plains, or Bull Run, which 
took place during the extra session of July, caused 
great exultation at the South, and was followed, as the 
reader will remember, by an adhesion of all the time- 
servers and waiters upon Providence south of Mason and 
Dixon's line to the cause of the insurgents, by the con- 
solidation of the so-called Confederate Government, and 
the castino; of the whole weight of the influence of the 
governing classes in Europe against the government of 
our Republic. It was followed also by greater prepara- 
tions on the part of our Government, and excited, after 
the first day or two of depression, only a more fixed de- 
termination on the part of loyal people. Under these 
circumstances, Mr. Lincoln sent in his second Message. 

MESSAGE. 

Fellow- Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives — In 
the midst of unprecedented political troubles, we have cause 
of great gratitude to God for unusual good health, and most 
abundant harvests. 



78 THE martyr's monument. 

You will not be surprised to learn that, in the peculiar exi- 
gencies of the times, our intercourse with foreign nations has 
been attended with profound solicitude, chiefly turning upon 
our own domestic affairs. A disloyal portion of the American 
people have, during the whole year, been engaged in an attempt 
to divide and destroy the Union. A nation which endures fac- 
tious domestic division, is exposed to disrespect abroad ; and 
one party, if not both, is sure, sooner or later, to invoke foreign 
intervention. Nations thus tempted to interfere are not always 
able to resist the counsels of seeming expediency and ungenerous 
ambition, although measures adopted under such influences sel- 
dom fail to be unfortunate and injurious to those adopting them. 

The disloyal citizens of the United States who have offered 
the ruin of our country, in return for the aid and comfort which 
they have invoked abroad, have received less patronage and 
encouragement than they probably expected. If it were just to 
suppose, as the insurgents have seemed to assume, that foreign 
nations, in this case, discarding all moral, social, and treaty ob- 
ligations, would act solely and selfishly for the most speedy 
restoration of commerce, including especially the acquisition of 
cotton, those nations appear, as yet, not to have seen their way 
to their object more directly, or clearly, through the destruc- 
tion, than through the preservation, of the Union. If we could 
dare to believe that foreign nations are actuated by no higher 
principle than this, I am quite sure a sound argument could be 
made to show them that they can reach their aim more readily 
and easily by. aiding to crush this rebellion, than by giving en- 
couragement to it. 

The principal lever relied on by the insurgents for exciting 
foreign nations to hostility against us, as already intimated, is 
the embarrassment of commerce. Those nations, however, not 
improbably, saw from the first that it was the Union which made, 
as well our foreign as our domestic commerce. They can 
scarcely have failed to perceive that the effort for disunion pro- 
duced the existing difficulty ; and that one strong nation prom- 
ises more durable peace, and a more extensive, valuable, and 
reliable commerce, than can the same nation broken into hostile 
fragments. 



THE martyr's monument. 79 

It is not my purpose to review our discussions witli foreign 
States ; because whatever might be their wishes or dispositions, 
the integrity of our country and the stability of our Govern- 
ment mainly depend, not upon them, but on the loyalty, virtue, 
patriotism, and intelligence of the American jDeople. The cor- 
respondence itself, with the usual reservations, is herewith sub- 
mitted. 

I venture to hope it will appear that we have practiced pru- 
dence and liberality towards foreign powers, averting causes of 
irritation ; and with firmness maintaining our own rights and 
honor. 

Siace, however, it is apparent that here, as in every other 
State, foreign dangers necessarily attend domestic difficulties, I 
recommend that adequate and ample measures be adopted for 
maintaining the public defences on every side. While, under 
this general recommendation, provision for defending our sea- 
coast line readily occurs to the mind, I also, in the same con- 
nection, ask the attention of Congress to our great lakes and 
rivei-s. It is believed that some fortifications and depots of 
arms and munitions, with harbor and navigation improvements, 
all at well-selected points upon these, would be of great im- 
portance to the national defence and preservation. I ask atten- 
tion to the \dews of the Secretary of War, expressed in his 
report upon the same general subject. 

I deem it of importance that the loyal regions of East Ten- 
nessee and Western North Caroliaa should be connected with 
Kentucky and other faithful j3ai*ts of the Union by railroad. I, 
therefore, recommend, as a military measure, that Congress pro- 
vide for the construction of such road as speedily as possible. 

Kentucky will no doubt co-operate, and, through her Legis- 
lature, make the most judicious selection of a line. The north- 
ern terminus must connect with some existing railroad, and 
whether the route shall be from Lexington or .Nicholasville to 
the Cumberland Gap, or from Lebanon to the Tennessee line, in 
the direction of Knoxville, or on some still diflferent line, can 
easily be determined. Kentucky and the General Government 
co-operating, the work can be completed in a very short time, 
and when done it will be not only of vast present usefulness, 



80 THE mahtyr's monument. 

but also a valuable permanent improyement worth its cost in all 
the future. 

Some treaties, designed chiefly for the interests of commerce, 
and having no grave political importance, have been negotiated, 
and will be submitted to the Senate for their consideration. 
Although we have failed to induce some of the commercial 
Powers to adopt a desirable melioration of the rigor of mari- 
time war, we have removed all obstructions from the way of 
this humane reform, except such as are merely of temporary 
and accidental occurrence. 

I invite your attention to the correspondence between her 
Britannic Majesty's Mnister, accredited to this Government, and 
the Secretary of State, relative to the detention of the British 
ship Perthshire in June last by the United States Steamer Mas- 
sachusetts, for a supposed breach of the blockade. As this de- 
tention was occasioned by an obvious misapprehension of the 
facts, and as justice requires that we should commit no bellig- 
erent act not founded in strict right as sanctioned by public 
law, I recommend that an appropriation be made to satisfy the 
reasonable demand of the owners of the vessel for her detention. 

******** 

If any good reason exists why we should persevere longer in 
withholding our recognition of the independence and sovereign- 
ty of Hayti and Liberia, I am unable to discern it. Unwilling, 
however, to inaugurate a novel policy in regard to them with- 
out the approbation of Congress, I submit for your considera- 
tion the expediency of an appropriation for maintaining a 
Charge d' Affaires near each of those new States. It does not 
admit of doubt that important commercial advantages mig-ht 
be secured by favorable treaties with them. 

The operations of the Treasury during the period which has 
elapsed smce your adjournment has been conducted with signal 
success. The patriotism of the people has placed at the dis- 
posal of the Government the large means demanded by the pub- 
lic exigencies. Much of the national loan has been taken by 
citizens of the industrial classes, whose confidence in their 
country's faith, and zeal for their country's delivemnce from its 
present peril, have induced them to contribute to the support 



THE martyr's monument. 81 

of the Government tlie whole of their limited acquisitions. This 
fact imposes peculiar obligations to economy and disbursement 
and energy in action. The revenue from all sources, including 
loans for the financial year ending on the 30th of June, 1861, 
was $86,835,900 27 ; and the expenditures for the same period, 
including payments on account of the public debt, were $84,- 
578,034 47, leaving a balance in the treasury, on the 1st of July, 
of $2,357,065 80 for the first quarter of the financial year end- 
ing on September 30, 1861. The receipts from all sources, in- 
cluding the balance of July 1, were $102,532,509 27, and the 
expenses $98,239,733 09, leaving a balance, on the 1st of Octo- 
ber, 1861, of $4,292,776 18. 

Estimates for the remaining three-quarters of the year and 
for the financial year of 1863, together with his views of the 
ways and means for meeting the demands contemplated by 
them, will be submitted to Congress by the Secretary of the 
Treasury. It is gratifying to know that the expenses made nec- 
essary by the rebellion are not beyond the resources of the loyal 
people, and to believe that the same patriotism which has thus 
far sustained the Government will continue to sustain it till 
peace and union shall again bless the land. I respectfully refer 
to the report of the Secretary of War for information respect- 
ing the numerical strength of the army, and for recommenda- 
tions having in view an increase of its efiiciency, and the well- 
being of the various branches of the service intrusted to his 
care. It is gratifying to know that the patriotism of the peo- 
ple has proved equal to the occasion, and that the number of 
troops tendered greatly exceed the force which Congress au- 
thorized me to call into the field. I refer with pleasure to those 
portions of his report which make allusion to the creditable de- 
gree of disciiDline already attained by our troops, and to the 
excellent sanitary condition of the entire army. The recom- 
mendation of the Secretary for an organization of the militia 
upon a uniform basis is a subject of vital importance to the fu- 
ture safety of the country, and is commended to the serious at- 
tention of Congress. The large addition to the regular army, 
in connection with the defection that has so considerably dim- 
inished the number of its officers, gives peculiar importance to 



82 THE martyr's monument. 



his recommendation for increasing the corps of cadets to the 
greatest capacity of the Military Academy. 

By mere omission, I presume, Congress has failed to provide 
chaplains for the hospitals occupied by the volunteers. This 
subject was brought to my notice, and I was induced to draw 
up the form of a letter, one copy of which, properly addressed, 
has been delivered to each of the persons, and at the dates re- 
spectively named and Stated in a schedlile, containing, also, the 
form of the letter marked A, and herewith transmitted. These 
gentlemen, I understand, entered upon the duties designated 
at the times respectfully stated in the schedule, and have labored 
faithfully therein ever since. I therefore recommend that they 
be compensated at the same rate as chaplains in the army. I 
further suggest that general provision be made for chaplains to 
serve at hospitals, as w^ell as with regiments. 

The report of the Secretary of the Navy presents, in detail, 
the operations of that branch of the service, the activity and 
energy which have characterized its administration, and the re- 
sults of measures to increase its efficiency and power. Such 
have been the additions, by construction and purchase, that it 
may almost be said a navy has been created and brought into 
service since our difficulties commenced. 

Besides blockading our extensive coast, squadrons larger 
than ever before assembled under our flag have been put afloat, 
and performed deeds which have increased our naval renown. 

I would invite special attention to the recommendation of the 
Secretary for a more perfect organization of the navy, by intro- 
ducing additional grades in the service. 

The present organization is defective and unsatisfactory, and 
the suggestions submitted by the department will, it is believed, 
if adopted, obviate the difficulties alluded to, promote harmony, 
and increase the efficiency of the navy. 

There are three vacancies on the bench of the Supreme Court 
— two by the decease of .Justices Daniel and McLean, and one 
by the resignation of Justice Campbell. I have so far forborne 
making nominations to fill these vacancies for reasons which I 
will now state. Two of the out-gomg judges resided within 
the States now overrun by revolt ; so that if successors were 



THE martyr's monument. 83 

appointed in the same localities, they could not now serve upon 
their circuits; and many of the most competent men there 
probably would not take the personal hazard of accepting to 
serve, even here, upon the supreme bench. I have been unwill- 
ing to throw all the appointments northward, thus disabling 
myself from doing justice to the South on the return of peace ; 
although I may remark that to transfer to the North one which 
has heretofore been in the South, would ifot, with reference to 
territory and population, be unjust. 

During the long and brilliant judicial career of Judge 
McLean, his circuit grew into an empire — ^altogether too large 
for any one judge to give the courts therein more than a nom- 
inal attendance — rising in population from one million four 
hundred and seventy thousand and eighteen, in 1830, to six 
million one hundred and fifty-one thousand four hundred and 
five, in 1860, 

Besides this, the country generally has outgrown our present 
judicial system. If uniformity was at all intended, the 
system requires that all the States shall be accommodated with 
Circuit Courts, attended by supreme judges, while, in fact, Wis- 
consin, Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, Florida, Texas, California and 
Oregon, have never had any such courts. Nor can this well be 
remedied without a change of the system ; because the adding 
of judges to the Supreme Court, enough for the accommodation 
of all parts of the country with Circuit Courts, would create a 
court altogether too numerous for a judicial body of any sort. 
And the evil, if it be one, will increase as new States come into the 
Union. Circuit Courts are useful, or they are not useful. If use- 
ful, no State should be denied them, if not useful no State should 
have them. Let them be provided for all, or abolished as to all. 

Three modifications occur to me, either of which, I think, 
would be an improvement upon our present system. Let the 
Supreme Court be of convenient number in every event. Then, 
first, let the whole country be divided into circuits of conven- 
ient size, the supreme judges to serve in a number of them cor- 
responding to their own number, and indejDendent circuit judges 
provided for all the rest. Or, secondly, let the suj)reme judges 
be relieved from circuit duties, and circuit judges provided for 



84 THE MARTYR'S MONUMENT. 

all tlie circuits. Or, thirdly, dispense with circuit courts alto- 
gether, leaving the judicial functions wholly to the district 
courts and an independent Supreme Court. 

I respectfully recommend to the consideration of Congress 
the present condition of the statute laws, with the hope that 
Congress will be able to find an easy remedy for many of the 
inconveniences and evils which constantly embarrass those en- 
gaged in the practical administration of them. Since the or- 
ganization of the Government, Congress has enacted some five 
thousand acts and joint resolutions, which fill more than six 
thousand closely-printed pages, and are scattered through many 
volumes. Many of these acts have been drawn in haste and 
without sufficient caution, so that their j^rovisions are often ob- 
scure in themselves, or in conflict with each other, or at least so 
doubtful as to render it very difficult for even the best-informed 
persons to ascertain precisely what the statute law really is. 

It seems to me very important that the statute laws should be 
made as plain and intelligible as possible, and be reduced to as 
small a compass as may consist with the fulness and precision 
of the will of the legislature and the perspicuity of its lan- 
guage. This, well done, would, I think, greatly facilitate the 
labors of those whose duty it is to assist in the administration 
of the laws, and would be a lasting benefit to the people, by 
placing before them, in a more accessible and intelligible form, 
the laws which so deeply concern their interests and their 
duties. 

I am informed by some whose opinions I respect, that all the 
acts of Congress now in force, and of a permanent and general 
nature, might be revised and re-written, so as to be embraced 
in one volume (or, at most, two volumes) of ordinary and con- 
venient size. And I respectfully recommend to Congress to 
consider of the subject, and if my suggestion be approved, to 
devise such plan as to their wisdom shall seem most proper for 
the attainment of the end proposed. 

One of the unavoidable consequences of the present insurrec- 
tion is the entire suppression, in many places, of all the ordi- 
nary means of administering civil justice by the officers, and in 
the forms of existing law. This is the case, in whole or in part 



THE martyr's monument. 85 

in all the insurgent States ; and as our armies advance upon and 
take possession of parts of those States, the practical evil 
becomes more apparent. There are no courts nor officers to 
whom the citizens of other States may apply for the enforcement 
of their lawful claims against citizens of the insurgent States ; 
and there is a vast amount of debt constituting such claims. 
Some have estimated it as high as two hundred million dollars, 
due, in large part, from in-surgents in open rebellion to loyal 
citizens who are, even now, making great sacrifices in the dis- 
charge of their patriotic duty to support the Government. 

Under these circumstances, I have been urgently solicited to 
establish, by military power, courts to administer summary 
justice in such cases. I have thus far declined to do it, not 
because I had any doubt that the end proposed — the collection 
of the debts — was just and right m itself, but because I have 
been unwilling to go beyond the pressure of necessity in the 
unusual exercise of power. But the powers of Congress, I 
suppose, are equal to the anomalous occasion, and therefore I 
Tefer the whole matter to Congress, with the hope that a plan 
may be devised for the admiuistration of justice in all such parts 
of the insurgent States and Territories as may be under the con- 
trol of this Government, whether by a voluntary return to alle- 
giance and order, or by the power of our arms ; this, however, 
not to be a permanent institution, but a temporary substitute, 
and to cease as soon as the ordinary courts can be re-established 
in peace. 

It is important that some more convenient means should be 
provided, if possible, for the adjustment of claims against the 
Government, especially in view of their increased number by 
reason of the war. It is as much the duty of Government to 
render prompt justice against itself, in favor of citizens, as it is 
to administer the same between private indi^dduals. The 
investigation and adjudication of claims, in their nature belong 
to the judicial department; besides, it is apparent that the 
attention of Congress will be more than usually engaged, for 
some time to come, with great national questions. It is intended, 
by the organization of the Court of Claims, mainly to remove 
this branch of business from the halls of Congress ; but while 



86 THE martyr's monument. 

the court has proved to be an effective and valuable means of 
investigation, it in great degree fails to effect the object of its 
creation, for want of power to make its judgments final. 

Fully aware of the delicacy, not to say the danger, of the 
subject, I commend to your careful consideration whether this 
power of making judgments final may not j)roperly be given to 
the court, reserving the right of appeal on questions of law to 
the Supreme Court, with such other provisions as experience 
may have shown to be necessary. 

******** 

The present insurrection show^s, I think, that the extension of 
this district across the Potomac River, at the time of establish- 
lishing the Capital here, was eminently wise, and consequently 
that the relinquishment of that portion of it which lies within 
the State of Virginia was unwise and dangerous. I submit for 
your consideration the expediency of regaining that part of the 
district, and the restoration of the original boundaries thereof^ 
' through negotiations with the State of Virginia. 

The report of the Secretary of the Interior, with the accom- 
panying documents, exhibits the condition of the several 
branches of the public business pertaining to that department. 
The depressing influences of the insurrection have been espe- 
cially felt in the operations of the Patent and General Land 
OflSces. The cash receipts from the sales of public lands during 
the past year have exceeded the expenses of our land system 
only about two hundred thousand dollars. The sales have been 
entirely suspended in the Southern States, while the interrup- 
tions to the business of the countiy, and the diversion of large 
numbers of men from labor to military service, have obstructed 
settlements in the new States and Territories of the Northwest. 

The demands upon the Pension Office will be largely increased 
by the insurrection. Numerous applications for pensions, based 
upon the casualties of the existing war, have already been made. 
There is reason to believe that many who are now upon the pen- 
sion rolls, and in receipt of the bounty of the Government, are 
in the ranks of the insurgent army or giving them aid and com- 
fort. The Secretary of the Interior has directed a suspension 



THE martyr's monument. 87 

of the payment of the pensions of such persons ujDon proof of 
their disloyalty. I recommend that Congress authorize that 
officer to cause the names of such persons to be stricken from 
the pension rolls. 

The. relations of the Government with the Indian tribes have 
been greatly disturbed by the insurrection, especially in the south- 
ern superintendency and in that of New Mexico. The Indian 
country south of Kansas is in the possession of the insurgents 
from Texas and Arkansas. The agents of the United States 
appointed since the 4th of March for this supeiintendency have 
been unable to reach their posts, while the most of those who 
were in the office before that time have espoused the insurrec- 
tionary cause, and assume to exercise the power of agents by 
virtue of commissions from the insurrectionists. It has been 
stated in the public press that a portion of those Indians have 
been organized as a military force, and are attached to the army 
of the insurgents. Although the Government has no official 
information upon this subject, letters have been written to the 
Commissioner of Indian Affairs by several prominent chiefs, 
giving assurance of their loyalty to the United States, and 
expressing a wish for the j^resence of Federal troops to protect 
them. It is believed that upon the repossession of the country 
by the Federal forces, the Indians will readily cease all hostile 
demonscrations, and resume their former relations to the Gov- 
ernment. 

Agricuiture, confessedly the largest interest in the nation, has 
not a department, nor a bureau, but a clerkship only, assigned 
to it in the Government. While it is fortunate that this gi^at 
interest is jk) independent in its nature as to not have demanded 
and extorted more from the Government, I respectfully ask 
Congress to consider whether something more can not be given 
voluntarily with general advantage. 

Annual reports exhibiting the condition of our agriculture, 
commerce, and manufactures, would present a fund of informa- 
tion of great practical value to the country. While I make no 
suggestion as to details, I venture the opinion that an agricul- 
tural and statistical bureau might profitably be organized. 

The execution of the laws for the suppression of the African 



88 THE martyr's monument. 

slaye-trade has been confided to the Department of the Interior. 
It is a suljject of gratulation that the efforts which have been 
made for the suppression of this inhuman traffic have been 
recently attended with unusual success. Five vessels being 
fitted out for the slave-trade have been seized and condemned. 
Two mates of vessels engaged in the trade, and one person in 
equipping a vessel as a slaver, have been convicted and subjected 
to the penalty of fine and imprisonment, and one captain taken 
with a cargo of Africans on board his vessel, has been convicted 
of the highest grade of offence under our laws, the punishment 
of which is death. 

******** 

Under and by virtue of the act of Congress entitled " An act 
to confiscate property used for insurrectionary purposes," 
approved August 6, 1861, the legal claims of certain persons 
to the labor and service of certain other persons have become 
forfeited ; and numbers of the latter, thus liberated, are already 
dependent on the United States, and must be provided for in 
some way. Besides this, it is not impossible that some of the 
States will pass similar enactments for their own benefit resjDec- 
tively, and by operation of which persons of the same class will 
be thrown upon them for disposal. In such case I recommend 
that Congress provide for accej)ting such persons from such 
States, according to some mode of valuation, in lieu, 'pro tanto^ 
of direct taxes, or upon some other plan to be agreed on with 
such States respectively ; that such persons, on such acceptance 
by the General Government, be at once deemed free ; and that, 
in any event, steps be taken for colonizing both classes (or the 
one first mentioned, if the other shall not be brought into exist- 
ence) at some place or places in a climate congenial to them. 
It might be well to consider, too, whether the free colored peo- 
ple already in the United States could not, so far as individuals 
may desire, be included in such colonization. 

To cany out the plan of colonization may involve the acquir- 
ing of territory, and also the appropriation of money beyond 
that to be expended in the territorial acquisition. Having 
practiced the acquisition of territory for nearly sixty years, the 
question of constitutional power to do so is no longer an open 



THE martyr's monument. 89 

one with us. The power was questioned at first ])y Mr. Jefi"er- 
son, who, however, in the purchase of Louisiana, yielded his 
scruples on the plea of great expediency. If it be said that the 
only legitimate object of acquiring territory is to furnish homes 
for white men, this measure effects that object ; foi the emigra- 
tion of colored men leaves additional room for white men remain- 
ing or coming here. 3Ir. Jefferson, however, placed the impor- 
tance of i^rocuring Louisiana more on political and commercial 
grounds than on providing room for population. 

On this whole proposition, including the appropriation of 
money with the acquisition of territory, does not the expediency 
amount to absolute necessity — that, without which the Govern- 
ment itself can not be perpetuated ? 

The war continues. Jn considering the policy to be adopted 
for suppressing the insurrection, I have been anxious and care- 
ful that the inevitable conflict for this jDurpose shall not degen- 
erate into a violent and remorseless revolutionary struggle. 

In the exercise of my best discretion I have adhered to the 
blockade of the ports held by the insurgents, instead of putting 
in force by proclamation the law of Congress enacted at the late 
session for closing those ports. 

So, also, obeying the dictates of prudence, as well as the 
obligations of law, instead of transcending I have adhered to 
the act of Congress to confiscate property used for insurrec- 
tionary purposes. If a new law upon the same subject shall be 
proposed, its propriety will be duly considered. The Union 
must be preserved ; and hence all the indispensable means must 
be employed. We should not be in haste to determine that 
radical and extreme measures, which may reach the loyal as well 
as the disloyal are indispensable. 

The inaugural address at the beginning of the Administration, 
and the message to Congress at the late special session, were 
both mainly devoted to the domestic controversy out of which 
the insurrection and consequent war have sprung. Nothing 
now occurs to add or subtract to or from the principles or gen- 
eral purposes stated and expressed in those documents. 

The last ray of hope for preserving the Union peaceably 
expired at the assault upon Fort Sumter ; and a general review 



90 THE martyr's monument. 

of what has occurred since may not be unprofitable. What was 
painfully uncertain then is much better defined and more distinct 
now ; and the progress of events is plainly in the right direc- 
tion. The insurgents confidently claimed a strong support from 
north of Mason and Dixon's line ; and the friends of the Union 
were not free from apprehension on the point. This, however, 
was soon settled definitely, and on the right side. South of the 
line, noble little Delaware led off right from the first. Maryland 
was made to seem against the Union. Our soldiers were assaulted, 
bridges were burned, and railroads torn up within her limits ; 
and we were many days, at one time, without the ability to 
bring a single regiment over her soil to the capital. Now her 
bridges and railroads are repaired and open to the Government ; 
she already gives seven regiments to the cause of the Union, 
and none to the enemy ; and her people, at a regular election, 
have sustained the Union by a larger majority and a larger 
aggregate vote than they ever before gave to any candidate or 
any question. Kentucky, too, for some time in doubt, is now 
decidedly and, I think, unchangeably ranged on the side of the 
Union. Missouri is comparatively quiet, and, I believe, can not 
again be overrun by the insurrectionists. These three States of 
Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri, neither of which would 
promise a single soldier at first, have now an aggregate of not 
less than forty thousand in the field for the Union ; while of 
their citizens, certainly not more than a third of that number, 
and they of doubtful whereabouts and doubtful existence, are 
in arms against it. After a somewhat bloody struggle of months, 
winter closes on the Union people of Western Virginia, leav- 
ing them masters of their own country. 

An insurgent force of about fifteen hundred, for months 
dominating the narrow peninsular region constituting the coun- 
ties of Accomac and Northampton, and known as the Eastern Shore 
of Virginia, together with some contiguous parts of Maryland, 
have laid down their arms ; and the people there have renewed 
their allegiance to, and accepted the protection of the old flag. 
This leaves no armed insurrectionist north of the Potomac, or 
east of the Chesapeake. 

Also, we have obtained a footing at each of the isolated points 



91 



on the Southern coast, of Hatteras, Port Royal, Tybee Island, 
near Savannah, and Ship Island ; and we likewise have some 
general accounts of popular movements in behalf of the Union 
in North Carolina and Tennessee. 

These things demonstrate that the cause of the Union is 
advancing steadily and certainly southward. 

Since your last adjournment Lieutenant-General Scott has 
retired from the head of the army. During his long life the 
nation has not been unmindful of his merit ; yet, on calling to 
mind how faithfully, ably, and brilliantly he has served the 
country, from a time far back in our history, when few of the 
now living had been bom, and thenceforward continually, I can 
not but think we are still his debtors. I submit, therefore, for 
your consideration what further mark of recognition is due to 
him, and to ourselves as a grateful people. 

With the retirement of General Scott came the executive duty 
of appointing in his stead a general-in-chief of the army. It is 
a fortunate circumstance that neither in council nor country 
was there, so far as I know, any difference of opinion as to the 
proper person to be selected. The retiring chief repeatedly 
expressed his judgment in favor of General McClellan for the 
position ; and in this the nation seemed to give a unanimous 
concurrence. The designation of General McClellan is, there- 
fore, in considerable degree, the selection of the country as well 
as of the Executive ; and hence there is better reason to hope 
there will be given him the confidence and cordial support thus, 
by fair implication promised, and without which he can not, 
with so full efficiency, serve the country. 

It has been said that one bad general is better than two good 
ones : and the saying is true, if taken to mean no more than 
that an army is better directed by a single mind, though inferior, 
than by two superior ones at variance and cross-purposes with 
each other. 

And the same is true in all joint operations wherein those 
engaged can have none but a common end in view, and can 
differ only as to the choice of means. In a storm at sea, no one 
on board can wish the ship to sink ; and yet not unfrequently 



92 THE martyr's monument. 

all go down together, because too many will direct, and no 
single mind can be allowed to control. 

It continues to develo^D that the insurrection is largely, if not 
exclusively a war upon the first principle of popular govern- 
ment — the rights of the people. Conclusive evidence of this 
is found in the most grave and maturely-considered public doc- 
uments, as well as in the general tone of the insurgents. In 
those documents we find the abridgment of the existing right 
of sufii-age, and the denial to the people of all right to partici- 
pate in the selection of public officers, except the legislative, 
boldly advocated, with labored arguments to prove that large 
control of the people in government is the source of all j)olitical 
evil. Monarchy itself is sometimes hinted at as a possible 
refuge from the power of the people. 

In my present position, I could scarcely be justified were I 
to omit raising a warning voice against this approach of re- 
turning despotism. 

It is not needed, nor fitting here, that a general argument 
should be made in favor of poj)ular institutions ; but there is 
one point, with its connections, not so hackneyed as most others^ 
to which I ask a brief attention. It is the effort to place capital 
on an equal footing with, if not above, labor, in the structure 
of Government. It is assumed that labor is available only in 
connection with capital ; that nobody labors unless somebody 
else, owning capital, somehow by the use of it induces him to 
labor. This assumed, it is next considered whether it is best 
that capital shall hire laborers, and thus induce them to work by 
their own consent, or buy them, and drive them to it without 
their consent. Having jDroceeded so far, it is naturally con- 
cluded that all laborers are either hired laborers, or what we 
call slaves. And further, it is assumed that whoever is once a 
hired laborer is fixed in that condition for life. 

Kow, there is no such relation between capital and labor as 
assumed ; nor is there any such thiug as a free man being fixed 
for life in the condition of a hired laborer. Both these assump- 
tions are false, and all inferences from them are groundless. 

Labor is prior to and inde]3endent of capital. Capital is only 
the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not 



THE martyr's monument. 93 

first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves 
much the higher consideration. Capital has its rights, which 
are as worthy of protection as any other rights. Nor is it de- 
nied that there is, and probably always will be, a relation be- 
tween labor and capital, producing mutual benefits. The error 
is in assuming that the whole labor of community exists within 
that relation. A few men own capital, and those few avoid 
labor themselves, and, with their capital, hire or buy another 
few to labor for them. A large majority belong to neither class 
—neither work for others, nor have others working for them. 
In most of the Southern States, a majority of the whole people 
of all colors are neither slaves nor masters ; while in the North- 
ern, a large majority are neither hirers nor hired. Men, with 
their families — ^*ives, sons, and daughters — work for themselves, 
on their fanns, in their houses, and in their shops, taking the 
whole product to themselves, and asking no favors of capital on 
the one hand, nor of hired laborers or slaves on the other. It 
is not forgotten that a considerable number of persons mingle 
their own labor with capital — that is, they labor with their own 
hands, and also buy or hire others to labor for them ; but this 
is only a mixed, and not a distinct class. No principle stated 
is disturbed by the existence of this mixed class. 

Again : as has already been said, there is not of necessity any 
such thing as the free hired laborer being fixed to that condi- 
tion for life. Many independent men everywhere in these 
States, a few years back in their lives, were hired laborers. The 
prudent, penniless beginner in the world labors for wages awhile, 
saves a surplus with which to buy tools or land for himself, 
then labors on his own account another while, and at length 
hires another new beginner to help him. This is the just, and 
generous, and prosperous system, which opens the way to all, 
gives hope to all, and consequent energy, and progress, and 
improvement of condition to all. No men living are more 
worthy to be trusted than those who toil up from poverty — 
none less inclined to take or touch aught which they have not 
honestly earned. Let them beware of surrendering a political 
power which they already possess, and which, if surrendered, 
will surely be used to close the door of advancement against 



94 THE martyr's monument. 

sucli as they, and to fix new disabilities and burdens upon 
tliem, till all of liberty shall be lost. 

From the first taking of our national census to the last are 
seventy years ; and we find our population, at the end of the 
period, eight times as great as it was at the beginning. The 
increase of those other things which men deem desirable has 
been even greater. We thus have, at one view, what the popu- 
lar principle applied to the Government through the machinery 
of the States and the Union, has produced in a given time ; 
and also what, if firmly maintained, it promises for the future. 
There are already among us those who, if the Union be pre- 
served, will live to see it contain two hundred and fifty millions. 
TThe struggle of to-day is not altogether for to-day ; it is for a 
vast future also. With a reliance on Providence, all the more 
firm and earnest, let us proceed in the great task which events 
have devolved upon us. Abraham Lincoln. 

GENERAL M'CLELLAN. 

The appointment of General McClellan to the com- 
mand of the Army of the Potomac after the battle of 
Bull Run, was received with satisfaction in military cir- 
cles, and by the public* generally . We all remember the 
hearty confidence which all loyal people gave him, and 
the high hopes we all based upon the general estimate 
of his abilities. We all remember, too, how, accom- 
plished military man and capable organizer as he was, 
he yet tried the nation's soul by his delay and his hes- 
itating strategy. Of our impatience the following Orders 
were the first public official expression : 

ARMY ORDER. 

ExEcmTo: Mansion, Washington, Jq,nuary 27, 1862. 

Ordered^ That the twenty-second day of February, 1862, be 
the day for a general movement of the land and naval forces of 
the United States against the insurgent forces. That especially 
the army at and about Fortress Monroe, the army of the Poto- 



THE martyr's monument. 95 

mac, the army of Western Virginia, the army near Munfords- 
ville, Kentucky, the army and flotilla at Cairo, and a naval 
force in the Gulf of Mexico, be ready to move on that day. 

That all other forces, both land and naval, with their respective 
commanders, obey existing orders for the time, and be ready to 
obey additional orders when duly given. 

That the heads of departments, and especially the Secretaries 
of War and of the Navy, mth all their subordinates, and the 
General-in-Chief, with all other commanders and subordinates 
of land and naval forces, will severally be held to their strict 
and full responsibilities for prompt execution of this order. 

Abraham Lincoln. 

ARMY ORDER. 

ExEcunTE Mansion, Washington, January 31, 1862. 

Ordered^ That all the disposable force of the Army of the 
Potomac, after providing safely for the defence of Washington, 
be formed into an expedition for the immediate object of seizing 
and occupying a point upon the railroad southwest of what is 
known as Manassas Junction, all details to be in the discretion 
of the Commander-in-Chief, and the expedition to move before 
or on the twenty-second day of February next. 

Abraham Lencoln. 

The following letter from Mr. Lincoln to General 
McClellan is one of the earliest manifestations of a rad- 
ical discrepancy of views between the General and the 
Administration, which became the source of great em- 
barrasment, out of which the soldier did not extricate 
himself or his country by success, and in the course of 
which the civilian showed at least the ability always to 
touch with his pen the right point. 

TO GENERAL M'CLELLAN ON THE PLAN OF THE CAM- 
PAIGN AGAINST RICHMOND. 

ExECTJTiVE Mansion, Washington, February 3, 1862. 

My Bea/r Sir — You and I have distinct and different plans for 
a movement of the Army of the Potomac ; yours to be done by 



96 



the Chesapeake, up the Rappahannock to Urbana, and across 
land to the terminus of the railroad on the York River ; mine 
to move directly to a point on the railroad southwest of 
Manassas. 

If you will give satisfactory answers to the following ques- 
tions, I shall gladly yield my plan to yours : 

1st. Does not your plan involve a greatly larger expenditure 
of time and money than mine ? 

3d. Wherein is a victory more certain by your plan than mine ? 

8d. Wherein is a victory tnore valvMble by your plan than mine ? 

4th. In fact, would it not be less valuable in this : that it would 
break no great line of the enemy's communication, while mine 
would ? 

5th. In case of disaster, would not a retreat be more difficult 
by your plan than mine ? 

Tours, truly, Abkaham LmcoLN. 

Major-General McClellan. 

'*aebitrary" arrests. 
At the outbreak of the rebellion, emissaries of the 
rebels, and their active sympathizers, hardly less danger- 
ous, were scattered over the country. Mr. Lincoln, fol- 
lowing in this matter the example of Washington, ordered 
the summary arrest and imprisonment of some of these 
persons, and in this manner, without a doubt, neutralized 
many efforts that could have been met in no other way. 
Maryland was the scene of many of these arrests as to 
which Mr. Lincoln spoke frankly thus : 

" The public safety renders it necessary that the grounds of 
these arrests should at present be withheld, but at the proper 
time they will be made public. Of one thing the people of 
Maryland may rest assured, that no arrest has been made, or 
will be made, not based on substantial and unmistakable com- 
plicity with those in armed rebellion against the Government 
of the United States. In no case has an arrest been made on 
mere suspicion, or through personal or partisan animosity, but 
in all cases the Government is in possession of tangible and un- 



97 



mistakable evidence, which will, when made public, be satis- 
factory to every loyal citizen." 

These arrests were made at first under the authority 
of the State Department, but on the 14th of February, 
1862, this matter was transferred to the War Depart- 
ment, which transfer was made the occasion of the fol- 
lowing State paper upon the subject, in which the rea- 
sons for these "arbitrary arrests" are fully set forth. 
After the appearance of this order there was little 
complaint heard upon this subject, except from those 
journals and individuals who were well known as sym- 
pathizers with the rebellion. 

EXECUTIVE ORDERS IN RELATION TO STATE PRISONERS. 
Wab Depaktment, Washinqtox, Feb. 14, 1862. 

The breaking out of a formidable insurrection, based on a 
conflict of political ideas, being an event without precedent in 
the United States, was necessarily attended by great confusion 
and perplexity of the public mind. Disloyalty, before unsus- 
pected, suddenly became bold, and treason astonished the 
world by bringing at once into the field military forces superior 
in numbers to the standing army of the United States, 

Every department of the Government was paralyzed by 
treason. Defection appeared in the Senate, in the House of 
Representatives, in the Cabinet, in the Federal Courts ; Miais- 
sters and Consuls returned from foreign countries to enter the 
insurrectionary councils, or land or naval forces ; commanding 
and other officers of the army and in the navy betrayed the 
counsels or deserted their posts for commands in the insurgent 
forces. Treason was flagrant in the revenue and m the post- 
office service, as well as in the territorial governments and in 
the Indian reserves. 

Not only Governors, Judges, Legislators, and ministerial 
officers in the States, but even whole States, rushed, one after 
another, with apparent unanimity, into rebellion. The capital 
was besieged and its connection with all the States cut off. 

5 



98 THE martyr's monument. 

Eyen in the portions of the country which were most loyal, 
political combinations and secret societies were formed further, 
ing the work of disunion, while, from motives of disloyalty or 
cupidity, or from excited passions or perverted sympathies, 
individuals were found furnishing men, money, and materials 
of war and supplies to the insurgents' militarj^ and naval forces. 
Armies, ships, fortifications, navy yards, arsenals, military posts 
and garrisons, one after another, were betrayed or abandoned 
to the insurgents. 

Congress had not anticipated and so had not provided for the 
emergency. The municipal authorities were powerless and inac- 
tive. The judicial machinery seemed as if it had been designed 
not to sustain the Government, but to embarrass and betray it. 

Foreign intervention, openly invited and industriously insti- 
gated by the abettoi*s of the insurrection, became imminent, 
and has only been prevented by the practice of strict and im- 
partial justice with the most perfect moderation in our inter- 
course with nations. 

The public mind was alarmed and apprehensive, though 
fortunately not distracted or disheartened. It seemed to be 
doubtful whether the Federal Government, which one year 
before had been thought a model worthy of universal accept- 
ance, had indeed the ability to defend and maintain itself. 

Some reverses, which perhaps were unavoidable, suffered by 
newly levied and inefficient forces, discouraged the loyal, and 
gave new hopes to the insurgents. Voluntary enlistments 
seemed about to cease, and desertions commenced. Parties 
speculated upon the questions whether conscriptions had not 
become necessary to fill up the armies of the United States. 

In this emergency the President felt it his duty to employ 
with energy the extraordinary powers which the Constitution 
confides to him in cases of insurrection. He called into the 
field such military and naval forces, unauthorized by the exist- 
ing laws, as seemed necessary. He directed measures to prevent 
the use of the post-office for treasonable correspondence. He 
subjected passengers to and from foreign countries to new pass- 
port regulations, and he instituted a blockade, suspended the 
writ of habeas coi^pua in various places, and caused persons whc 



THE martyr's monument. 99 

were represented to him as being engaged or about to engage in 
disloyal and treasonable practices to be arrested by special civil as 
well as military agencies, and detained in military custody, when 
necessary, to prevent them and deter others from such practices. 
Examinations of such cases were instituted, and some of the 
persons so arrested have been discharged from time to time, 
under circumstances or upon conditions compatible, as was 
thought, with the public safety. 

Meantime a favorable change of public opinion has occurred. 
The line between loyalty and disloyalty is plainly defined ; the 
whole structure of the Government is firm and stable ; appre- 
prehensions of public danger and facilities for treasonable 
practices have diminished with the passions which prompted 
heedless persons to adopt them. The insurrection is believed 
to have culminated and to be declining. 

The President, in view of these facts, and anxious to favor a 
return to the normal course of the Administration, as far as 
regard for the public welfare will allow, directs that all politi- 
cal prisoners or State prisoners now held in military custody, 
be released, on their subscribing to a parole engaging them to 
render no aid or comfort to the enemies in hostility to the 
United States. 

The Secretary of "War will, however, at his discretion, except 
from the effect of this order any persons detained as spies in the 
service of the insurgents, or others whose release at the present 
moment may be deemed incompatible with the public safety. 

To all persons who shall be so released, and who shall keep 
their parole, the President grants an* amnesty for any past 
offences of treason or disloyalty which they may have com- 
mitted. 

Extraordinary arrests will hereafter be made under the direc- 
tion of the military authorities alone. 

By order of the President : 

Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War. 

THE QUESTION OF SLAVERY. 

The public mind had now been brought to a point by 
the resistance and the spirit of the insurgents, at which 



100 THE martyr's monument. '\ 

Mr. Lincoln thought it prudent to bring before Congress j 

the question of the abolition of slavery. This he did >. 

in the following Message, whereby he proposed only, it j 

will be seen, such a co-operation of Congress with the peo- | 

pie of the Slave States, as might provide for the grad- j 

ual extinction of the institution w'hich in three years j 
was to be utterly destroyed. 

MESSAGE PROPOSINa AID FOR THE GRADUAL ABOLITION 
OF SLAVERY. 

Washington, March 6, 1862. 

Fellow- Gitkensofthe Senate and House of Beriresentatives — I rec- 
ommend the adoption of a joint resolution by your honorable 
body, which shall be, substantially, as follows : 

Besolved, That the United States, in order to co-operate with 
any State which may adopt gradual abolition of slavery, give 
to such State pecuniary aid, to be used by such State, in itg 
discretion, to compensate it for the inconvenience, public and 
private, produced by such change of system. 

If the proposition contained in the resolution does not meet 
the apj)roval of Congress and the country, there is an end of it. 
But if it does command such approval, I deem it of importance 
that the States and people immediately interested should be at 
once distinctly notified of the fact, so that they may begin to 
consider whether to accept or reject it. 

The Federal Government would find its highest interest in 
such a measure as one of the most important means of self- 
preservation. The leaders of the existing rebellion entertain 
the hope that this Government will ultimately be forced to 
acknowledge the indej)endence of some part of the disaflfected 
region, and that all the Slave States north of such part will then 
say, " The Union for w^hich we have struggled being already 
gone, we now choose to go with the Southern section." To de- 
prive them of this hope substantially ends the rebellion ; and 
the initiation of emancipation deprives them of it, and of all 
the States initiating it. 



THE MAKTYR'S monument. 101 

The point is not that all the States tolerating slavery would 
very soon, if at all, initiate emancii^ation ; but while the offer 
is equally made to all, the more Korthem shall, by such initia- 
tion, make it certain to the more Southern that in no event will 
the former ever join the latter in their proposed Confederacy. 
I say initiation, because, in my judgment, gradual and not sud- 
den emancipation is better for all. 

In the mere financial or pecuniary view, any member of Con- 
gress with the census or an abstract of the Treasury report be- 
fore him, can, readily see for himself how very soon the current 
expenditures of this war would purchase, at a fair valuation, all 
the slaves in any named State. 

Such a proposition on the part of the General Government 
sets u^D no claim of a right by the Federal authority to interfere 
with slavery within State limits — referring as it does the abso- 
lute control of the subject, in each case, to the State and the 
people immediately interested. It is proposed as a matter of 
perfectly free choice to them. 

In the annual message, last December, I thought fit to say 
"the Union must be preserved, and hence all indispensable 
means must be employed." I said this, not hastily but delib- 
erately. War has been made, and continues to be an indispens- 
able means to this end. A practical reacknowledgment of the 
national authority would render the war unnecessary, and it 
would at once cease. But resistance continues, and the war 
must also continue ; and it is impossible to foresee all the inci- 
dents which may attend, and all the ruin which may follow it. 
Such as may seem indispensable, or may obviously promise 
great efficiency towards ending the struggle, must and will come. 

The proposition now made (though an offer only) I hope it 
may be esteemed no offence to ask whether the pecuniary con- 
sideration tendered would not be of more value to the States 
and private persons concerned than would be the institution and 
property in it, in the present aspect of affairs. While it is true 
that the adoption of the proposed resolution would be merely 
initiatory, and not within itself a practical measure, it is rec- 
ommended in the hope that it would lead to important prac- 
tical results. 



102 THE martyr's monument. 

In full view of my great responsibility to my God and my 
country, I earnestly beg tbe attention of Congress and the peo- 
ple to the subject. Abraham Lincoln. 

GENERAL M'CLELLAN. 

The McClellan trouble grew day by day. We see in 
this brief letter how tenderly Mr. Lincoln dealt with his 
touchy commander. 



Executive Mansion, 
Wasuinqton, March 31, 1862. 



a 

My Dear Sir — This morning I felt constrained to order 
Blenker's division to Fremont, and I write this to assure you 
that I did so with great pain, understanding that you would 
wish it otherwise. If you could know the full pressure of the 
case I am confident that you would justify it, even beyond a 
mere acknowledgment that the Commander-in-Chief may order 
what he pleases. 

Yours, vei*y truly, A. Lincoln. 

Major-General McClellan. 

In this longer communication there is the same kind- 
ness, the same consideration ; and although it is pervaded 
by a tone of authority, that authority seems almost pater- 
nal in its expression. 

Washington, April 9, 1862. 

My Dear Sir — Your dispatches, complaining that you are not 
properly sustained, while they do not offend me, do pain me 
very much. 

Blenker's division was withdrawn from you before you left 
here, and you know the pressure under which I did it, and, as I 
thought, acquiesced in it — certainly not without reluctance. 

After you left, I ascertained that less than twenty thousand 
unorganized men, without a single field battery, were all you 
designed to be left for the defence of Washington and Manassas 
Junction, and part of this even was to go to General Hooker's 
old position. General Banks's corps, once designed for Manassas 



103 



Junction, was diverted and tied up on the line of Winchester 
and Strasburg, and could not leave it without again exposing 
the upper Potomac and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. This 
presented, or would present, when McDowell and Sumner 
should be gone, a great temptation to the enemy to turn back 
from the Rappahannock and sack Washington. My implicit 
order that Washington should, by the judgment of all the com- 
manders of army corps, be left entirely secure, had been neg- 
lected. It was precisely this that drove me to detain McDowell. 

I do not forget that I was satisfied with your arrangement to 
leave Banks at Manassas Junction : but when that arrangement 
was broken up, and nothing was substituted for it, of course I 
was constrained to substitute something for it myself. And 
allow me to ask, do you really think I should permit the line 
from Richmond, via Manassas Junction, to this city, to be en- 
tirely of)en, except what resistance could be presented by less 
than twenty thousand unorganized troops ? This is a question 
which the country will not allow me to evade. 

There is a curious mystery about the number of troops now 
with you. AVhen I telegraphed you on the sixth, saying you had 
over a hundred thousand with you, I had just obtained from 
the Secretary of War a statement taken, as he said, from your 
own returns, making one hundred and eight thousand then with 
you and en route to you. You now say you will have but eighty 
five thousand when all en route to you shall have reached you. 
How can the discrepancy of twenty-three thousand be ac- 
counted for ? 

As to General Wool's command, I understand it is doing for 
you precisely what a like number of your own would have to 
do if that command was away. 

I suppose the whole force which has gone forward for you is 
with you by this time. And if so, I think it is the precise time 
for you to strike a blow. By delay, the enemy will relatively 
gain upon you — that is, he will gain faster by fortifications and 
reinforcements than you can by reinforcements alone. And 
once more let me tell you, it is indispensable to you that you 
strike a blow. I am powerless to help this. You will do me 
the justice to remember I always insisted that going down the 



104 THE martyr's monument. 

bay in searcli of a field, instead of fighting at or near Manassas, 
was only shifting, and not surmounting a difficulty ; that we 
would find the same enemy, and the same or eq^ual intrench- 
ments, at either place. The country will not fail to note, is now 
noting, that the present hesitation to move upon an intrenched 
enemy is but the story of Manassas repeated. 

I beg to assure you that I have never v^ritten to you or spoken 
to you in greater kindness of feeling than now, nor with a fuller 
purpose to sustain you, so far as, in my most anxious judgment, 
I consistently can. But you must act. 

Yours, very truly, A. Lincoln. 

Major-Crenerai McClellan. 

But it was only in the movement upon Richmond that 
there was delay and defeat, if not disaster, in the field. 
In all other quarters, and under all other generals, the 
National armies achieved victory, and attained substan- 
tial success. Grant had captured Fort Donelson and the 
army by which it was defended, Missouri had been cleared 
of rebels, Fort Pulaski had fallen. Island No. 10, Mem- 
phis and Nashville had been taken, and the signal vic- 
tory of Pittsburg Landing had been won. Upon occa- 
sion of the latter success, Mr. Lincoln issued the fol- 
lowing (his first) almost meek and humble 

PROCLAMATION OF THANKSGIVING. 

It has pleased Almighty God to vouchsafe signal victories to 
the land and naval forces engaged in suppressing an internal 
rebellion, and at the same time to avert from our country the 
dangers of foreign intervention and invasion. 

It is therefore recommended to the people of the United 
States, that at their next weekly assemblages in their accustomed 
places of public worship, which shall occur after the notice of 
this Proclamation shall have been received, they especially 



THE martyr's monument. 105 

acknowledge and render thanks to our Heavenly Father for 
these inestimable blessings ; that they then and there implore 
spiritual consolation in behalf of all those who have been brought 
into afiiiction by the casualties and calamities of sedition and 
civil war ; and that they reverently invoke the Divine guidance 
for our national counsels, to the end that they may speedily 
result in the restoration of peace, harmony, and unity through- 
out our borders, and hasten the establishment of fraternal rela- 
tions among all the countries of the earth. 

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused 
the seal of the United States to be affixed. 
Done at the city of Washington, this tenth day of April, in the 

year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty- 
[l. s.] two, and of the independence of the United States the 

eighty-sixth. Abraham Lincoln. 

By the President : 

Wm. H. Skttaed, Secretary of State. 

ABOLITION OF SLAVERY IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

The first step toward the abolition of slavery elicited 
from Mr. Lincoln the following : 

MESSAGE. 

April 16, 1862. 

Fellow- Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives — The 
act entitled " An act for the release of certain persons held to 
service or labor in this District of Columbia," has this day been 
approved and signed. 

I have never doubted the constitutional authority of Congress 
to abolish slavery in this District ; and I have ever desired to 
see the national caj)ital freed from the institution in some satis- 
factory way. Hence there has never been in my mind any ques- 
tion upon the subject except the one of expediency, arising in 
view of all the circumstances. If there be matters within and 
about this act which might have taken a course or shape more 
satisfactory to my judgment, I do not attempt to specify them. 
I am gratified that the two principles of compensation and col- 
onization are both recognized and practically applied in the act. 



106 



In the matter of compensation, it is provided that claims may 
be presented within ninety days from the passage of the act, 
" but not thereafter;" and there is no saving for minors, femmes 
covert, insane, or absent persons. I presume this is an omission 
by mere oversight, and I recommend that it be supplied by an 
amendatory or supplemental act. Abraham Lincoln. 

GENERAL HUNTER' S DECLARATION OF FREEDOM. 

On the 9th of May, 1862, General Hunter, in com- 
mand of the Department of the South, issued another of 
those precipitate and unauthorized orders upon the sub- 
ject of slavery, which embarrassed Mr. Lincoln so much 
in the early part of his administration. He boldly de- 
clared that order null, thereby provoking the censure of 
tlie extreme abolitionists, in the following 

PROCLAMATION. 

Whereas, There appears in the public prints what purports 
to be a proclamation of Major-General Hunter, in the words and 
figures following: 

Hkadquaeters Depaetment of the South, j 
Hilton Head, S. C, 3{ay 9, 1862. f 

General Order, No. 11. 

The three States of Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina, 
comprising the Military Department of the South, having de- 
liberately declared themselves no longer under the United States 
of America, and having taken up arms against the United States, 
it becomes a military necessity to declare them under martial 
law. 

This was accordingly done on the 25th day of April, 1862. 
Slavery and martial law in a free country are altogether incom- 
patible. The persons in these States — Georgia, Florida, and 
South Carolina — ^heretofore held as slaves, are therefore declared 
forever free. 

Signed, David Hunter, 

[Official.] Major-General Commanding. 

Ed. W. Smith, Acting Assistant Adjutant- General. 



THE martyr's monument. 107 

And^ whereas^ the same is producing some excitement and 
misunderstanding, therefore I, Abraham Lincoln, President of 
the United States, proclaim and declare that the Government of 
the United States had no knowledge or belief of an intention on 
the part of General Hunter to issue such proclamation, nor has 
it yet any authentic information that the document is genuine ; 
and, further, that neither General Hunter nor any other com- 
mander or person has been authorized by the Government of 
the United States to make proclamation declaring the slaves of 
any State free, and that the supposed proclamation now in 
question, whether genuine or false, is altogether void so far as 
respects such declaration. I further make known that, whether 
it be competent for me, as Commander-in-Chief of the Army and 
Navy, to declare the slaves of any State or States free ; and 
whether at any time, or in any case, it shall have become a 
necessity indispensable to the maintenance of the Government 
to exercise such supposed power, are questions which, under 
my responsibility, I reserve to myself, and which I cannot feel 
justified in leaving to the decision of commanders in the field. 

These are totally different questions from those of police regu- 
lations in armies or in camps. 

On the sixth day of i\Iarch last, by a special Message, I recom- 
mended to Congress the adoption of a joint resolution, to be 
substantially as follows : 

Resolved^ That the United States ought to co-operate with 
any State which may adopt a gradual abolishment of slavery, 
giving to such State earnest expression to compensate for its 
inconveniences, public and private, produced by such change of 
system. 

The resolution in the language above quoted was adopted by 
large majorities in both branches of Congress, and now stands 
an authentic, definite, and solem proposal of the Nation to the 
States and people most interested in the subject matter. To 
the people of these States now, I mostly appeal. I do not argue 
— I beseech you to make the arguments for yourselves. You 
cannot, if you would, be blind to the signs of the times. 

I beg of you a calm and enlarged consideration of them, rang- 
ing, if it may be, far above partisan and personal politics. 



108 



Tliis proposal makes common cause for a common object, cast- 
ing no reproaches upon any. It acts not tlie Pharisee. The 
changes it contemplates would come gently as the dews of 
Heaven, not rending or wrecking anything. Will you not 
embrace it ? So much good has not been done by one effort in 
all past time, as in the Providence of God it is now your high 
privilege to do. May the vast future not have to lament that 
you have neglected it. 

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused 
the seal of the United States to be hereunto affixed. 

Done at the city of Washington, this 19th day of May, in the 
year of our Lord one thousand eight himdred and sixty- 
two, and of the independence of the United States the 
eighty-sixth. 

Signed, Abraham Lincoln. 

By the President : 
William H. Sewaed, Secretary of State. 

THE M'CLELLAN AFFAIR. 

Chief among the President's sources of personal annoy- 
ance, as well as of grave concern, were the difficulties 
constantly occurring between General McClellan and the 
War Department, and between the Commander-in-Chief 
and his Generals of Corps and Division; all occurring, 
too, while the failure of General McClellan to make any 
effective movement made the country sick at heart. The 
following letters on this subject, like most of Mr. Lincoln's 
writings, fully explain themselves. 

The £rst refers to General McClellan's complaints as to 
the re-organization of the army into corps, and to his 
favoritism, which excited much ill-feeling. 

FOETRESS Monroe, May 9, 1S65. 

My Dear Sir: — I have just assisted the Secretary of War 
in forming the part of a dispatch to you, relating to army coi*ps, 



THE martyr's monument. 109 

Yvliich dispatch, of course, will have reached you long before 
this will. I wish to say a few words to you privately on this 
subject. I ordered the army corps organization not only on the 
unanimous opinion of the twelve generals of division, but also 
on the unanimous opinion of every military man I could get an 
opinion from, and every modem military book, yourself only 
excepted. Of course I did not on my own judgment pretend 
to understand the subject. I now think it indispensable for 
you to know how your struggle against it is received in quar- 
ters which we can not entirely disregard. It is looked upon as 
merely an effort to pamper one or two pets, and to persecute 
and degrade their supposed rivals. I have had no word from 
Sumner, Heintzelman and Keyes. The commanders of these 
corps are of course the three highest officers with you, but I 
am constantly told that you have no consultation or communi- 
cation with them, that you consult and communicate with 
nobody but Fitz John Porter, and perhaps General Franklin. 
I do not say these complaints are true or just ; but, at all 
events, it is proj)er you should know of their existence. Do 
the commanders of corps disobey your orders in anything ? 

When you relieved General Hamilton of his command the 
other day, you thereby lost the confidence of at least one of your 
best friends in the Senate. And here let me say, not as appli- 
cable to you personally, that Senators and Representatives speak 
of me in their places as they please without question ; and that 
officers of the army must cease addressing insulting letters to 
them for taking no greater liberty with them. But to return, 
are you strong enough, even with my help, to set your foot 
upon the neck of Sumner, Heintzelman and Keyes, all at once ? 
This is a practical and very serious question to you. 

Yours truly, A. Lencoln. 

Major-General G. B. McClellan. 

The following letter was elicited by General McClel- 
lan's complaints that he feared he had not men enough to 
meet the overwhelming force of the rebels, and that Gen- 
eral McDowell, who had been ordered to co-operate with 
him, was not sufficiently under his orders. 



110 



Washington, May 24, 1865. 

I left General McDowell's camp at dark last evening. Shields* 
command is there, but it is so worn that he can not move before 
Monday morning, the 26th. We have so thinned our line to get 
troops for other places, that it was broken yesterday at Front 
Royal, with a probable loss to us of one regiment infantry, two 
companies cavalry, putting General Banks in some peril. 

The enemy's forces, under General Anderson, now opposing 
General McDowell's advance, have, as their line of supply and 
retreat, the road to Richmond. 

If, in conjunction with McDowell's movement against Ander- 
son, you could send a force from your right to cut off the ene- 
my's supplies from Richmond, preserve the railroad bridge 
across the two forks of the Pamunky, and intercept the enemy's 
retreat, you will prevent the army now opposing you from 
receiving an accession of numbers of nearly 15,000 men ; and 
if you succeed in saving the bridges, you will secure a line of 
railroad for supplies in addition to the one you now have. Can 
you not do this almost as well as not, while you are building 
the Chickahominy bridges ? McDowell and Shields both say 
they can, and positively will, move Monday morning. I wish 
you to move cautiously and safely. 

You will have command of McDowell^ after lie joins you^ pre- 
cisely as you indicated in your long dispatch to us of the 21st. 

A. Lincoln, President. 

Major-General McClellan. 

The peril in which General Banks was placed by 
Stonewall Jackson's march up the Shenandoah made it 
necessary to send General McDowell to his support. 
Against this General McClellan remonstrated, and received 
in answer the following letter from the President : 

Washington, 3fay 25, 1865. 

Your dispatch received. General Banks was at Strasburg 
with about 6,000 men. Shields having been taken from him to 
swell a column for McDowell to aid you at Richmond, and the 



Ill 



rest of his force scattered at various places. On the 23d, a 
force of 7,000 to 10,000 fell upon one regiment and two compa- 
nies guarding the bridge at Port Royal, destroying it entirely; 
crossed the Shenandoah, and on the 24th, yesterday, pushed on 
to get north of Banks on the road to Winchester. General 
Banks ran a race with them, beating them into Winchester yes- 
terday evening. This morning a battle ensued between the two 
forces, in which General Banks was beaten back into full retreat 
toward Martinsburg, and probably is broken up into a total 
rout. Geary, on the Manassas Gap Railroad, just now reports 
that Jackson is now near Front Royal with 10,000 troops, fol- 
lowing up and supporting, as I understand, the force now 
pursuing Banks. Also, that another force of ten thousand is 
near Orleans, following on in the same direction. Stripped 
bare, as we are here, I will do all we can to prevent them cross- 
ing the Potomac at Harper's Ferry or above. McDowell has 
about twenty thousand of his forces moving back to the vicinity 
of Port Royal, and Fremont, who was at Franklin, is moving to 
both these movements intended to get in the 

One more of McDowell's brigades is ordered through here to 
Harper's Ferry ; the rest of his forces remain for the present at 
Fredericksburg. We are sending such regiments and dribs 
from here and Baltimore as we can spare to Harper's Ferry, 
supplying their places in some sort, calling in militia from the 
adjacent States. We also have eighteen cannon on the road to 
Harper's Ferry, of which arm there is not one at that point. 
This is now our situation. 

IJ McDowell's force was now heyond our reach., we should he 
entirely helpless. Apprehensions of something like this., and no 
unwillingness to sustain you., has always deen my reason for with- 
holding McDowells forces from you. 

Please understand this and do the best you can with the forces 

you have. 

A. Lincoln, President. 

Major-General McClellan. 

The following dispatch, sent within a few hours of the 
former, probably convinced General McClellan that Mr. 



112 THE martyr's monument. 

Lincoln had some reason on his side, as the whole coun- 
try soon discovered. 

Washington, 3faij 25, 1862—2 p. u. 

The enemy is moving nortli in sufficient force to drive Gene- 
ral Banks before him ; precisely in what force we cannot tell. 
He is also threatening Leesburg and Geary on the Manasses 
Gap Eailroad, from both north and south ; in precisely what 
force we cannot tell. I think the movement is a general and 
concerted one. Such as would not be if he was acting upon 
the purjDose of a very desperate defence of Richmond. I think 
the time is near when you must either attack Richmond or 
give up the job, and come to the defence of Washington. Let 
me hear from you instantly. 

A. Ln^coLN". 

One little exhibition of promptitude, followed by suc- 
cess, is to be credited to General McClellan about this 
time. He sent General Fitz John Porter to operate 
against a part of the rebel force which threatened Gene- 
ral McDowell near Hanover Court House. Porter 
drove the enemy from his position. Of this creditable 
but comparatively small affair General McClellan made 
so much as to elicit the following somewhat ironical 
expression of gratitude from the long-suffering, good- 
natured President. 

Washington, 3fay 28, 1862, 

I am very glad of General F. J. Porter's victory ; still, if it 
was a total rout of the enemy, I am puzzled to know why the 
Richmond and Frederic'ksburg Railroad was not seized again, 
as you say you have all the railroads but the Richmond and 
Fredericksburg. I am puzzled to see how, lacking that, you 
cm have any, except the scrap from Richmond to West Point. 
The scrap of the Virginia Central, from Richmond to Hanover 
Junction, without more, is simply nothing. That the whole 
of the enemy is concentrating on Richmond, I think, cannot be 



THE martyr's monument. 113 

certainly known to you or me. Saxton, at Harper's Ferry 
informs us that large forces, supposed to be Jackson's and 
Ewell's, forced his advance from Charlestown to-day. General 
King telegraphs us from Fredericksburg that contrabands give 
certain information that fifteen hundred left Hanover Junction 
Monday morning to reinforce Jackson. I am painfully im- 
pressed with the importance of the struggle before you, and shall 
aid you all I can consistently with my view of the due regard 
to all points. 

A. Lencoln. 

Major-General McClellan. 

THE CAMERON AND CUMMINGS AFFAIR. 

On the. 30th of April, 1862, the House of Represen- 
tatives passed a vote of censure upon Simon Cameron, 
Mr. Lincoln's first Secretary of War, (who had then 
been succeeded by Mr. Stanton.) for employing a Mr. 
Alexander Cummings of Philadelphia, then residing in 
New York, to purchase with public money placed at his un- 
restrained disposal, supplies for troops a.nd armicd vessels. 
The action of the House brought out the following very 
interesting and honorable Message from Mr. Lincoln. 
Mr. Cummings was much blamed and ridiculed in con- 
nection with this affair, but very unjustly. It proved 
that he committed no error whatever, except some trifling 
mistakes due to inexperience ; and the President assumed 
the responsibility of the whole affair. 

To tlie Senate and House of Representatives^ — The insurrection 
which is yet existing in the United States, and aims at the 
overthrow of the Federal Constitution and the Union, was 
clandestinely jDrepared during the winter of 1860 and 1861, 
and assumed an open organization in the form of a treasonable 
provisional government at Montgomeiy, Alabama, on the 
eighteenth day of February, 1861. On the twelfth day of 



114 THE martyr's monument. 

April, 1861, the insurgents committed the flagrant act of civil 
war by the bombardment and capture of Fort Sumter, which 
cut ofl:' the hope of immediate conciliation. Immediately after- 
wards all the roads and avenues to tliis city were obstructed, 
and the capital was put into the condition of a siege. The 
mails in every direction were stopped and the lines of telegraph 
cut off by the insurgents, and military and naval forces which 
had been called out by the Government for the defence of 
Washington were prevented from reaching the city by organized 
and combined treasonable resistance in the State of Maryland. 
There was no adequate and effective organization for the public 
defence. Ccmgress had indefinitely adjourned. There was no 
time to convene them. It became necessary for me to choose 
whether, using only the existing means, agencies, and processes 
which Congress had provided, I should let the government fall 
into ruin, or whether, availing myself of the broader powers 
conferred by the Constitution in cases of insurrection, I would 
make an effort to save it, with all its blessings, for the present 
age and for posterity. I thereupon summoned my constitutional 
advisers, the heads of all the departments, to meet on Sunday, 
the twentieth day of April, 1861, at the oflice of the Navy 
Department, and then and there, with their unanimous concur- 
rence, I directed that and armed revenue cutter should proceed 
to sea to afford protection to the commercial marine, especially 
to the California treasure-ships, then on their way to this coast. 
I also directed the Commandant of the Navy Yard at Boston 
to purchase or charter, and arm, as quickly as possible, five 
steamships for purj^oses of public defence. I directed the 
the Commandant of the Navy Yard at Philadelphia to purchase 
or charter and arm an equal number for the same purpose. I 
directed the Commandant at New York to purchase or charter, 
and arm an equal number. I directed Commander Gillis to 
purchase or charter, and arm and put to sea two other vessels. 
Similar directions were given to Commodore Dupont, with a 
view to the opening of passages by water to and from the 
capital. I directed the several oflicers to take the advice and 
obtain the efficient services in the matter of his Excellency 
Edwin D. Morgan, the Governor of New York, or, in his absence, 



THE martyr's monument. 115 

George D. Morgan, Wm. M. Evarts, E. M. Blatcliford, and 
Mosss H. Grinnell, who were, by my directions, especially em- 
powered by the Secretary of the Navy to act for his department 
in that crisis, in matters pertaining to the forwarding of troops 
and supplies for the public defence. 

On the same occasion I directed that Governor Morgan and 
Alexander Cummings, of the city of New York, should be author- 
ized by the Secretary of War, Simon Cameron, to make all 
necessary arrangements for the transportation of troops and mu- 
nitions of war in aid and assistance of the officers of the army 
of the United States, until communication by mails and tele- 
graph should be completely re-established between the cities of 
Washington and New York. No security was required to be 
given by them, and either of them was authorized to act in case 
of inability to consult with the other. On the same occasion I 
authorized and directed the Secretary of the Treasury to ad- 
vance, wdthout requiring security, two millions of dollars of 
public money to John A. Dix, George Oi)dyke, and Richard M. 
Blatchford, of New York, to be used by them in meeting such 
requisitions as should be directly consequent upon the military 
and naval measures for the defence and support of the Govern- 
ment, requiring them only to act Avithout compensation, and to 
report their transactions when duly called upon. The several 
departments of the Government at that time contained so large 
a number of disloyal persons that it would have been impossible 
to provide safely through official agents only, for the perform- 
ance of the duties thus confided to citizens favorably known for 
their ability, loyalty, and patriotism. The several orders issued 
upon these occurrences were transmitted by private messengers, 
who pursued a circuitous way to the seaboard cities, inland 
across the States of Pennsylvania and Ohio, and the northern 
lakes. I believe that by these and other similar measures taken 
in that crisis, some of which were without any authority of law, 
the Government was saved from overthrow. I am not aware 
that a dollar of the public funds thus confided without authority 
of law, to unofficial persons, was either lost or wasted, although 
apprehensions of such misdirections occurred to me as objec- 
tions to these extraordinary proceedings, and were necessarily 



116 THE martyr's monument. 

overruled. I recall these transactions now because my attention 
has been directed to a resolution which was passed by the 
House of Representatives on the thirtieth of last month, which 
is in these words : 

^'■Besohed^ That Simon Cameron, late Secretary of War, by in- 
trusting Alexander Cummings with the control of large sums ot 
the public money, and authority to purchase military supplies 
without restriction, without requiiing from him any guarantee 
for the faithful performance of his duties, while the services ol 
competent joublic officers were available, and by involving the 
Government in a vast number of contracts with persons not 
legitimately engaged in the business pertaining to the subject 
matter of such contracts, especially in the purchase of arms for 
future delivery, has adopted a policy highly injurious to the 
public service, and deserves the censure of the House," 

Congress will see that I should be wanting in candor and in 
justice if I should leave the censure expressed in this resolution 
to rest exclusively or chiefly upon Mr. Cameron. The same 
sentiment is unanimously entertained by the heads of the de- 
partments, who participated in the proceedings which the House 
of Eepresentatives has censured. It is due to Mr. Cameron to 
say that although he fully approved the proceedings, they were 
not moved nor suggested -by himself, and that not only the 
President, but all the other heads of departments were at least 
equally responsible v/ith him for whatever error, wrong or fault 
was committed in the premises. Abraham Lincoln. 

GENERAL M'CLELLAN'S CHANGE OF BASE. 

About the 25th of June, the rebels, apparently weary 
of waiting for General McClellan to attack them, made 
up their minds to attack him. This he discovered, and 
the War Department had discovered it before liim. 
Thej concentrated an overwhelming force upon his right 
wing, just as he was about to withdraw it from Gaines' 
Mill J drove it back, and followed it across the peninsula 



THE martyr's monument. 117 

in that dreadful series of battles ending with a complete 
defeat for them at Malvern Hill, -which the country re- 
members so well under the name of the Seven Dajs' 
Battles. The following four letters addressed to General 
McClellan, tell the story of that movement almost as 
well as a detailed description : 

Wasiiixgton, June 26, 1S62. 

Your three dispatches of yesterday in relation to the advance 
of your picket lines, ending with the statement that you com- 
pletely succeeded in making your point, are very gratifying. 
The later one, suggesting the probability of your being over- 
whelmed by 200,000 men, and talking of to whom the responsi- 
bility will belong, pains me very much. I give you all I can, 
and act on the presumption that you will do the best you can 
with what you have ; while you continue, ungenerously I think, 
to assume that I could give you more if I would. I have omit- 
ted — I shall omit — no opportunity to send you reinforcements 
whenever I can. A. Lestcoln. 

Washington, June 28, 1862. 

Save your army at all events. Will send reinforcements as 
fast as we can. Of course they cannot reach you to-day, to-mor- 
row, or next day. I have not said you were ungenerous for 
saying you needed reinforcements ; I thought you were ungener- 
ous in assuming that I did not send them as fast as I could. I 
feel any misfortune to you and your army quite as keenly as 
you feel it yourself. If you have had a drawn battle or a repulse, 
it is the price we pay for the enemy not being in Washington. 
We protected Washington, and the enemy concentrated on you. 
Had we stripped Washington, he would have been upon us be- 
fore the troops sent could have got to you. Less than a week 
ago you notified us that reinforcements were leaving Richmond 
to come in front of us. It is the nature of the case, and neither 
you nor the Government is to blame. A. Lincdln. 

Washington, Jidy 1, 1862,-3.30 p. m. 

It is impossible to reinforce you for your present emergency. 
K we had a million of men we could not get them to you in 



11.8 THE martyr's monument. 

time. We have not the men to send. If you are not strong 
enough to face the enemy, you must find a place of security, 
and wait, rest, and repair. Maintain your ground if you can, 
but save the army at all events, even if you fall back to Fort 
Monroe. We still have strength enough in the country, and 
will bring it out. A. Llncoln. 

Major-General G. B. McClellan. 

"Washington, July 2, 1862. 

Your despatch of yesterday induces me to hope that your 
army is having some rest. In this hope, allow me to reason 
with you for a moment. When you ask for 50,000 men to be 
promptly sent you, you surely labor under some gross mistake 
of fact. Recently you sent papers showing your disposal of 
forces made last spring for the defence of Washington, and ad- 
vising a return to that plan. I find it included in and about 
Washington 75,000 men. Now, please be assured that I have 
not men enough to fill that very plan by 15,000. All of Gen- 
eral Fremont's in the Valley, all of General Banks's, all of Gen- 
eral McDowell's not with you, and all in Washington taken 
together, do not exceed, if they reach, 60,000. With General 
Wool and General Dix added to those mentioned, I have not 
outside of your army, 75,000 men east of the mountains. Thus, 
the idea of sending you 50,000, or any other considerable forces 
promptly, is simply absurd. If in your frequent mention of 
responsibility you have the impression that I blame you for not 
doing more than you can, please be relieved of such impression. 
I only beg, that in like manner, you will not ask impossibilities 
of me. If you think you are not strong enough to take Rich- 
mond just now, I do not ask you to try just now. Save the 
army, material, and persojiTiel, and I will strengthen it for the 
offensive again as fast as I can. The governors of eighteen 
States oflFer me a new levy of 300,000, which I accept. 

A. Lincoln. 

War Department, Washington City, July 4, 1S62. 

I understand your position as stated in your letter, and by 
General Marcy. To reinforce you so as to enable you to resume 
the offensive within a month, or even six weeks, is impossible. In 



119 



addition to that arrived and now arriving from the Potomac (about 
ten thousand men, I suppose), and about ten thousand, I nope, you 
Tvill have from Bumside very soon, and about five thousand 
from Hunter a little later, I do not see how I can send you 
another man within a month. Under these circumstances, the 
defensive, for the present, must be your only care. Save the 
army, first, where you are, if you can ; and secondly, by remo- 
val, if you must. You, on the ground, must be the judge as to 
which you will attempt, and of the means for effecting it. I 
but give it as my opinion, that with the aid of the gunboats 
and the reinforcements mentioned above, you can hold your 
present position ; provided, and so long as you can keep the 
James River open below you. If you are not tolerably confi- 
dent you can keep the James River open, you had better re- 
move as soon as possible. I do not remember that you have 
expressed any apprehension as to the danger of having your 
communication cut on the river below you, yet I do not sup- 
pose it can have escaped your attention. A. Lincoln. 

P. S. — If at any time you feel able to take the ofiensiv, you 
are not restrained from doing so. A. I-. 

SLAVERY IN THE BORDER STATES. 

Mr. Lincoln's message advocating the gradual emanci- 
pation of slaves, with compensation to the owners, elicit/^d 
no response from the leading men of the Border Slave 
States. Impressed with the importance of this subject, 
he therefore asked the Members of Congress from those 
States to meet him at the White House, on the 12th of 
July, and delivered to them the following 

ADDRESS. 

Qentlemen — After the adjournment of Congress, now near, I 
shall have no opportunity of seeing you for several months. 
Believing that you of the Border States hold more power for 
good than any other equal number of members, I feel it a duty 
which I cannot justifiably waive, to make this appeal to you. 



120 THE martyr's monument. 

I intend no reproach or complaint wben I assure you that, in 
my opinion, if you all had voted for the resolution in the grad- 
ual emancipation Message of last March the war would now be 
substantially ended. And the plan therein proposed is yet one 
of the most potent and swift means of euding it. Let the 
States which are in rebellion see definitely and certainly that in 
no event will the States you represent ever join their proposed 
Confederacy, and they cannot much longer maintain the contest. 
But you cannot divest them of their hope to ultimately have 
you with them as long as you show a determination to perpetu- 
ate the institution within your own States. Beat them at elec- 
tions, as you have overwhelmingly done, and, nothing daunted, 
they still claim you as their own. You and I know what the 
lever of their power is. Break that lever before their faces, and 
they can shake you no more forever. 

Most of you have treated me with kindness and consideration, 
and I trust you will not now think I improperly touch what is 
exclusively your own, when, for the sake of the whole country, 
I ask. Can you, for your States, do better than to take the 
course I urge ? Discarding punctilio and maxims adapted to 
more manageable times, and looking only to the unprecedently 
stem facts of our case, can you do better in any possible event ? 
You prefer that the constitutional relation of the States to the 
nation shall be practically restored without disturbance of the 
institution : and if this were done, njy whole duty, in this re- 
spect, under the Constitution and my oath of office, would be 
performed. But it is not done, and we are trying to accomplish 
it by war. The incidents of the war cannot be avoided. If the 
war contiuues long, as it must if the object be not sooner at- 
tained, the institution in your States will be extinguished by 
mere friction and abrasion — by the mere incidents of the war. 
It will be gone, and you will have nothing valuable in lieu of 
it. Much of its value is gone already. How much better for 
you and for your people to take the step which at once shortens 
the war, and secures substantial compensation for that which is 
sure to be wholly lost in any other event ! How much better 
to thus save the money which else we sink forever in the war I 
How much better to do it while we can, lest the war ere long 



THE martyr's monument. 121 

render us pecuniarily unable to do it ! How much better for 
you, as seller, and the nation, as buyer, to sell out and buy out 
that without which the war never could have been, than to sink 
both the thing to be sold and the price of it in cutting one 
another's throats ! 

I do not speak of emancipation at once, but of a decision at 
once to emancipate gradually. Room in South America for 
colonization can be obtained cheaply, and in abundance, and 
when numbers shall be large enough to be company and encour- 
agement for one another, the freed people will not be so reluc- 
tant to go. 

I am pressed with a difficulty not yet mentioned — one which 
threatens division among those who, united, are none too strong. 
An instance of it is known to you. General Hunter is an honest 
man. He was, and I hope still is, my friend. I valued him 
none the less for his agreeing with me in the general wish that 
all men everywhere could be free. He proclaimed all men free 
Mithin certain States, and I repudiated the proclamation. He 
expected more good and less harm from the measure than I 
could believe would follow. Yet, in repudiating it, I gave dis- 
satisfaction, if not offence, to many whose support the country 
can not afford to lose. And this is not the end of it. The 
pressure in this direction is still upon me, and is increasing. 
By conceding what I now ask you can relieve me, and much 
more, can relieve the country in this important point. 

Upon these considerations I have again begged your attention 
to the Message of March last. Before leaving the Capital, con- 
sider and discuss it among yourselves. You are patriots and 
statesmen, and as such I pray you consider this proposition; 
and at the least commend it to the consideration of your States 
and people. As you would perpetuate popular government for 
the best people in the world, I beseech you that you do in 
nowise omit this. Our common country is in great peril, 
demanding the loftiest views and boldest action to bring a 
speedy relief. Once relieved, its form of government is saved 
to the world ; its beloved history and cherished memories are 
vindicated, and its happy future fully assured and rendered 
inconceivably grand. To you, more than to any others, the priv- 

6 



122 THE maktyr's monument. 

ilege is given to assure that happiness and swell that grandeur 
and to link your own names therewith forever. 

THE CONFISCATION BILL. 

On the same day of the delivery of the foregoing address 
Mr. Lincoln sent the following Message to the House of 
Representatives approving the Confiscation Bill which 
had been passed by that body, except in one point, to which 
he objected as being unconstitutional. 

Felhw- Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives — 
Considering the bill for " An act to suppress insurrection, to 
punish treason and rebellion, to seize and confiscate the property 
of rebels, and for other purposes," and the joint resolution 
explanatory of said act as being substantially one, I have 
approved and signed both. 

Before I was informed of the resolution, I had prepared the 
draft of a message, stating objections to the bill becoming a 
law, a copy of which draft is herewith submitted. 

Abraham Lincoln. 

July 12, 1862. 

[Gojpy.-\ 

Fellow- Citizens of the House of Representatiues — I herewith 
return to the honorable body, in which it originated, the bill 
for an act entitled "An act to suppress treason and rebellion, 
to seize and confiscate the property of rebels, and for other pur- 
poses," together with my objections to its becoming a law. 

There is much in the bill to which I perceive no objection. 
It is wholly prospective; and it touches neither person nor 
property of any loyal citizen, in which particular it is just and 
proper. 

The first and second sections provide for the conviction and 
punishment of persons who shall be guilty of treason, and per- 
sons who shall "incite, set on foot, assist, or engage in any 
rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United 
States, or the laws thereof, or shall give aid or comfort thereto, 
or shall engage in or give aid and comfort to any such existing 



THE martyr's MONUJ'ENT. 123 

rebellion or insurrection." By fair construction, persons within 
those sections are not punished without regular trials in duly 
constituted courts, under the forms and all the substantial pro- 
visions of law and the Constitution applicable to their several 
cases. To this I jjerceive no objection ; especially as such per- 
sons would be within the general pardoning power, and also 
the special provision for jiardon and amnesty contained in this act. 

It is also provided that the slaves of persons convicted under 
these sections shall be free. I think there is an unfortunate 
form of expression, rather than a substantial objection, in this. 
It is startling to say that Congress can free a slave within a 
State, and yet, if it were said the ownership of a slave had first 
been transferred to the nation, and Congress had then liberated 
him, the difficulty would at once vanish. And this is the real 
case. The traitor against the General Government forfeits his 
slave at least as justly as he does any other property; and he 
forfeits both to the Government against which he offends. The 
Government, so far as there can be ownership, thus owns the 
forfeited slaves, and the question for Congress in regard to them 
is, " Shall they be made free or sold to new masters ?" I per- 
ceive no objection to Congress deciding in advance that they 
shall be free. To the high honor of Kentucky, as I am informed, 
she is the owner of some slaves by escheat^ and has sold none, 
but liberated all. I hope the same is true of some other States. 
Indeed, I do not believe it will be physically possible for the 
General Government to return persons so circumstanced to 
actual slavery. I believe there would be physical resistance to 
it, which could neither be turned aside by argument nor driven 
away by force. In this view I have no objection to this feature 
of the bill. Another matter involved in these two sections, 
and running through other parts of the act will be noticed 
hereafter. 

I perceive no objections to the third or fourth sections. 

So far as I wish to notice the fifth and sixth sections, they 
may be considered together. That the enforcement of these 
sections would do no injustice to the persons embraced within 
them is clear. That those who make a causeless war should be 
compelled to pay the cost of it is too obviously just to be called 



124 THE martyr's monument. 

in question. To give governmental protection to the property 
of persons who have abandoned it, and gone on a crusade to 
overthrow the same Government, is absurd, if considered in the 
mere light of justice. The severest justice may not always be 
the best policy. The principle of seizing and appropriatmg 
the property of the person embraced within these sections is 
certainly not very objectionable, but a justly discriminating 
application of it would be very difficult, and, to a great extent, 
impossible. And would it not be wise to place a power of 
remission somewhere, so that these persons may know they 
have something to loose by persisting and something to gain by 
desisting ? I am not sure whether such j)ower of remission is 
or is not in section thirteen. Without any special act of Con- 
gTess, I think our military commanders, when, in military 
phrase, " they are within the enemy's country," should, in 
orderly manner, seize ahd use whatever of real or per'=<^nal 
property may be necessary or convenient for their commands ; 
at the same time preserving, in some way, the evidence of what 
they do. 

What I have said in regard to slaves, while commenting on 
the first and second sections, is applicable to the ninth, with 
the difference that no provision is made in the whole act for 
determining whether a particular individual slave does or does 
not fall within the classes defined in that section. He is to be 
free upon certain conditions ; but whether those conditions do 
or do not j^ertain to him, no mode of ascertaining is provided. 
This could be easily supplied. 

To the tenth section I make no objection. The oath therein 
required seems to be proper, and the remainder of the section 
is substantially identical -^Tlth a law already existing. 

The eleventh section simply assumes to confer discretionary 
power upon the Executive. Without the law, I have no hesi- 
tation to go as far in the direction indicated as I may at any 
time deem expedient. And I am ready to say now, I think 
it is proper for our military commanders to employ, as laborers, 
as many persons of African descent as can be used to advan- 
tage. 

The twelfth and thirteenth sections are something better than 



125 



unobjectionable; and the fourteenth is entirely proper, if all 
other parts of the act shall stand. 

That to which I chiefly object pervades most part of the Act, 
but more distinctly appears in the first, second, seventh and 
eighth sections. It is the sum of those provisions which results 
in the divesting of title forever. 

For the causes of treason and ingredients of treason, not 
amounting to the full crime, it declares forfeiture extending be- 
yond the lives of the guilty parties ; whereas the Constitution 
of the United States declares that " no attainder of treason shall 
work corruption of blood or forfeiture except during the life 
of the person attainted." True, there is to be no formal at- 
tainder in this case ; still, I think, the greater punishment can- 
not be constitutionally inflicted, in a different form, for the 
same offence. 

AVith great respect I am constrained to say I think this fea- 
ture of the Act is unconstitutional. It would not be difficult 
to modify it. 

I may remark that the provision of the Constitution, put in 
language borrowed from Great Britain, applies only in this 
country, as I understand, to real or landed estate. 

Again, this act, in rem, forfeits property for the ingredients 
of treason without a conviction of the supposed criminal, or a 
personal hearing given him in any proceeding. That we may 
not touch property lying within our reach, because we cannot 
give personal notice to an owner who is absent endeavoring to 
destroy the Government, is certainly satisfactory. Still, the 
owner may not be thus engaged ; and I think a reasonable time 
should be provided for such parties to appear and have personal 
hearings. Similar provisions are not uncommon in connection 
with proceedings in rem. 

For the reasons stated, I return the Bill to the House in which 
it originated. 

GENERAL M'CLELLAN AGAIN. 

Here we have another of those gentle, but firm re- 
proofs, which Mr. Lincoln was continually called upon to 
administer to General McClellan. 



126 THE martyr's monument. 

Executive Mansion, Washington, July 13, 1862. 

My Bear Sir — I am told that over 160,000 men' have gone 
with your army on the Peninsula. When I was T^th you the 
other day, we made out 86,000 remaining, leaving 78,500 to be 
accounted for. I believe 3,500 will cover all the killed, 
wounded, missing, in all your battless and skirmishes, leaving 
50,000 who have left otherwise. Not more than 5,000 of these 
have died, leaving 45,000 of your army still alive, and not with it. 
I believe half or two-thirds of them are fit for duty to-day. 
Have you any more perfect knowledge of this than I have ? If 
I am right, and you had these men with you, you could go into 
Richmond in the next three days. How can they be got to you, 
and how can they be prevented from getting away in such num- 
bers for the future ? A. Lincoln. 

COLONIZATION. 

It was yet uncertain whether one result of the war 
would be the setting free of all the slaves in the country ; 
but it was plain enough that the number of free negroes 
in the South would be enormously increased thereby. The 
question as to the disposition to be made of these eman- 
cipated slaves was one of much difficulty. Mr. Lincoln 
bearing in mind the dislike of his own race to mingle with 
the negro race socially and politically, favored the project 
of a vast scheme of colonization. Tins he broached in 
an address to a deputation of negroes whom he received 
at the White House on the 14th of August, 1862. 

ADDRESS. 

Having all been seated, the President, after a few preliminary 
observations, informed them that a sum of money had been ap- 
propriated by Congress, and placed at his disposition, for the 
purpose of aiding the colonization in some country, of the peo- 
ple, or a portion of them, of African descent, thereby making 
it his duty, as it had for a long time been his inclination, t ) 



127 



favor that cause ; and "why, he asked, should the people of your 
race be colonized, and where ? AYhy should they leave this 
country ? This is, perhaps, the first question for proper con- 
sideration. You and we are different races. We have between 
us a broader difference than exists between almost any other two 
races. "Whether it is right or wrong I need not discuss ; but 
this physical difference is a great disadvantage to us both, as I 
think. Your race suffer very greatly, many of them by living 
among us, while ours suffer from your presence. In a word we 
suffer on each side. If this is admitted, it affords a reason, at 
least, why we should be separated. You here are freemen, I 
suppose. 

A voice — Yes, Sir. 

The President — Perhaps you have long been free, or all your 
lives. Your race are suffering, in my judgment, the greatest 
wrong inflicted on any people. But even when you cease to be 
slaves, you are yet far removed from being placed on an equali- 
ty with the white race. You are cut off from many of the ad- 
vantages which the other race enjoys. The aspiration of men 
is to enjoy equality with the best when free, but on this broad 
continent not a siagle man of your race is made the equal of a 
single man of ours. Go where you are treated the best, and the 
ban is still upon you. I do not propose to discuss this, but to 
present it as a fact, with which we have to deal. I cannot alter 
it if I would. It is a fact about which we all think and feel 
alike, I and you. We look to our condition. Owing to the 
existence of the two races on this continent, I need not recount 
to you the effects upon white men, growing out of the institu- 
tion of slavery. I believe in its general evil on the white race. 
See our present condition — the country engaged in war ! our 
white men cutting one another's throats — none knowing how 
far it will extend — and then consider what we know to be the 
truth. But for your race among us there could not be war, 
although many men engaged on either side do not care for you 
one way or the other. Nevertheless, I repeat, without the insti- 
tution of slavery, and the colored race as a basis, the war could 
not have an existence. It is better for us both, therefore, to be 
separated. I know that there are free men among you who, 



128 THE martyr's monument. 

even if they could better their condition, are not as much in- 
clined to go out of the country as those who, being slaves, could 
obtain their freedom on this condition. I suppose one of the 
principal difficulties in the way of colonization is that the free 
colored man cannot see that his comfort would be advanced by 
it. You may believe that you can live in Washington, or else- 
where in the United States, the remainder of your life ; perhaps 
more so than you can in any foreign country, and hence you 
may come to the conclusion that you have nothing to do with 
the idea of going to a foreign country. This (I speak in no 
imkind sense) is an extremely selfish view of the case. But you 
ought to do something to help those who are not so fortunate 
as yourselves. There is an unwillingness on the part of our peo- 
ple, harsh as it may be, for you free colored people to remain with 
us. Now if you could give a start to the white people you would 
open a wide door for many to be made free. If we deal with 
those who are not free at the beginning, and whose intellects are 
clouded by slavery, we have very poor material to start with. K 
intelligent colored men, such as are before me, would move in 
this matter, much might be accomplished. It is exceedingly 
important that we have men at the beginning capable of think- 
ing as white men, and not those who have been systematically 
oppressed. There is much to encourage you. For the sake of 
your race you should sacrifice something of your present com- 
fort for the purpose of being as grand in that respect as the 
white people. It is a cheering thought throughout life, that 
something can be done to ameliorate the condition of those who 
have been subject to the hard usages of the world. It is diflS- 
cult to make a man miserable while he feels he is worthy of 
himself and claims kindred to the great God who made him. 
In the American Revolutionary War sacrifices were made by 
men engaged in it, but they were cheered by the future. Gen- 
eral Washington himself endured greater physical hardships than 
if he had remained a British subject, yet he was a happy man 
because he was engaged in benefiting his race ; in doing some- 
thing for the children of his neighbors, having none of his own. 
The colony of Liberia has been in existence a long time. In 
a certain sense, it is a success. The old President of Liberia, 



129 



Roberts, lias just been with me for the first time I ever saw 
him. He says they have within the bounds of that colony 
between three and four hundred thousand people, or more than 
in some of our old States, such as Rhode Island or Delaware, 
or in some of our newer States, and less than in some of our 
larger ones. They are not all American colonists or their 
descendants. Something less than 12,000 have been sent thither 
from this country. Many of the original settlers have died, yet, 
like people elsewhere, their ofispring outnumber those deceased. 
The question is, if the colored people are persuaded to go any- 
where, why not there ? One reason for un-vvillingness to do so 
is, that some of you would rather remain within reach of the 
country of your nativity. I do not know how much attach- 
ment you may have toward our race. It does not strike me that 
you have the greatest reason to love them. But still you are 
attached to them at all events. The place I am thinking about 
having for a colony is in Central America. It is nearer to us 
than Liberia — not much more than one-fourth as far as Liberia, 
and within seven days' run by steamers. Unlike Liberia it is a 
great line of travel — it is a highway. The country is a very 
excellent one for any people, and with great natural resources 
and advantages, and especially because of the similarity of cli- 
mate with your native soil, thus being suited to your physical 
condition. The j)aii:icular place I have in view, is to be a great 
highway from the Atlantic or Caribbean Sea to the Pacific 
Ocean, and this particular place has all the advantages for a 
colony. On both sides there are harbors among the finest in the 
world. Again, there is evidence of very rich coal mines. A 
certain amount of coal is valuable in any countrj^, and there 
may be more than enough for the wants of any country. Why 
I attach so much importance to coal is, it will afibrd an oppor- 
tunity to the inhabitants for immediate employment till they 
get ready to settle permanently in their homes. If you take 
colonists where there is no good landing, there is a bad show ; 
and so where there is nothing to cultivate, and of which to 
make a farm. But if something is started so that you can get 
your daily bread as soon as you reach there, it is a great advan- 
tage. Coal land is the best thing I know of with which to com- 

6* 



130 



mence an enterprise. To return — you have been talked to 
upon this subject, and told that a speculation is intended by 
gentlemen who have an interest in the country, including the 
coal mines. We have been mistaken all our lives if we do not 
know whites, as well as blacks, look to their self-interest. 
Unless among those deficient of intellect, everybody you trade 
with makes something. You meet with these things here and 
everywhere. If such persons have what will be an advantage 
to them, the question is, whether it can be made of advantage 
to you ? You are • intelligent and know that success does not 
as much depend on external help as on self-reliance. Much, 
therefore, depends upon yourselves. As to the coal mines, I 
think I see the means available for your self-reliance. I shall, 
if I get a sufficient number of you engaged, have provision 
made that you shall not be wronged. If you will engage in the 
enterprise I will spend some of the money intrusted to me. I 
am not sure you will succeed. The Government may lose the 
money, but we can not succeed unless we try ; but we think 
with care we can succeed. The political afiairs in Central 
America are not in quite as satisfactory condition as I wish. 
There are contending factions in that quarter ; but it is true, 
all the factions are agreed alike on the subject of colonization, 
and want it, and are more generous than we are here. To your 
colored race they have no objection. Besides, I would endeavor 
to have you made equals, and have the best assurance that you 
should be the equals of the best. The practical tiling I want 
to ascertain is, whether I can get a number of able-bodied men, 
with their wives and children, who are willing to go when I 
present evidence of encouragement and protection. Could I 
get a hundred tolerably intelligent men, with their wives and 
children, and able to " cut their own fodder," so to speak ? 
Can I have fifty ? If I could find twenty-five able-bodied men, 
with a mixture of women and children — good things in the 
family relation, I think — I could make a successful commence- 
ment. I want you to let me know whether this can be done or 
not. This is the practical part of my wish to see you. These 
are subjects of very great importance — worthy of a month's 
study of a speech delivered in an hour. I ask you, then, to 



131 



consider seriously, not pertaining to yourselves merely, nor for 
your race and ours for the present time, but as one of the things, 
if successfully managed, for the good of mankind — not confined 
to the present generation, l3ut as 

" From age to age descends the lay 
To millions yet to be, 
Till far its echoes roll away ' 

Into eternity." 

The above is merely given as the substance of the President's 
remarks. 

The chairman of the delegation briefly replied, that " they 
would hold a consultation, and in a short time give an answer." 
The President said, " Take your full time — no hurry at all." 

The delegation then withdrew. 

THE CLAMORS FOR EMANCIPATION. 

There were some persons who seemed to think that Mr. 
Lincoln was elected not constitutional President of the 
United Scates, but President of an enormous Anti-Slaverj 
Society. Prominent among these was the eminent and 
estimable philanthropist who had made the Neiv York 
Tribune a power in the land, through the columns of 
which journal he addressed a letter to the President, on 
the 19th of August, 1862, urging upon him with great ear- 
nestness, and with all his wonted vigor of style, a policy 
of unreserved emancipation. To that letter Mr. Lincoln 
made the following clear and calm reply : 

ExECCTiTE Mansion, Washington, A^lgu8t 22, 1862. 

H<m. Horace Greeley — Dear Sir — I have just read yours of 
the 19th instant, addressed to myself through the New York 
Tribune. 

If there be in it any statements or assumptions of fact which I 
may know to be erroneous, I do not now and here controvert 
them. 



132 THE martyr's monument. 

If there be any inferences whicli I may believe to be falsely 
drawn, I do not now and liere argue against tliem. 

If there be perceptible in it an impatient and dictatorial tone, 
I waive it in deference to an old friend whose heart I have 
always supposed to be right. 

As to the policy I " seem to be pursuing," as you say, I have 
not meant to leave any one in doubt. I would save the Union. 
I would save it in the shortest way under the Constitution. 

The sooner the national authority can be restored the nearer 
the Union will be — the Union as it was. 

If there be those who would not save the Union unless they 
could at the same time save slavery, I do not agree with them. 

If there be those who would not save the Union unless they could 
at the same time destroy slavery, I do not agree with them. 

My paramount object is to save the Union, and not either to 
save or destroy slavery. 

If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would 
do it — if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it 
— and if I could do it by freeing some and leaving others alone, 
I would also do that. 

What I do about slavery and the colored race, I do because I 
believe it heljDS to save this Union, and what I forbear, I forbear 
because I do not believe it would help to save the Union. 

I shall do less whenever I shall believe what I am doing hurts 
the cause, and I shall do more whenever I believe doing more 
will help the cause. 

I shall try to correct errors when shown to be errors, and I 
shall adopt new views so fast as they shall appear to be true views. 

I have here stated my purpose according to my views of 
official duty, and I intend no modification of my oft-expressed 
personal wish that all men everywhere could be free. 

Yours, A. Lincoln. 

Such appeals as that to which Mr. Lincoln replied in 
the foregoing letter, became more frequent, taking in 
some instances almost the shape of demands ; and on the 
13th of September, the President formally received a 
deputation from the various religious denominations of 



THE martyr's monument. 133 

Chicago, who presented a memorial asking immediate and 
unconditional emancipation, to which he made the follow- 
ing response : 

The subject presented in tlie memorial is one upon which I 
have thought much for weeks past, and I may even say for 
months. I am approached with the most opposite opinions and 
advice, and that by religious men, who are equally certain that 
they represent the Divine will. I am sure that either the one 
or the other class is mistaken in that belief, and perhaps in some 
respects both. I hoi3e it will not be irreverent for me to say that 
if it is probable that God would reveal his will to others, on 'a 
point so connected with ray duty, it might be supposed he 
would reveal it directly to me ; for, unless I am more deceived 
in myself than I often am, it is my earnest desire to know the 
will of Providence in this matter. And if I can learn what it 
is I will do it ! These are not, however, the days of miracles, 
and I suppose it will be granted that I am not to expect a di- 
rect revelation. I must study the plain physical facts of the 
case, ascertain what is possible, and learn what appears to be 
wise and right. 

The subject is difficult, and good men do not agree. For in- 
stance, the other day, four gentlemen of standing and intelli- 
gence from New York called as a delegation on business con- 
nected with the war ; but before leaving two of them earnestly 
besought me to proclaim general emancipation, upon which the 
other two at once attacked them. You know, also, that the last 
session of Congress had a decided majority of anti-slavery men, 
yet they could not unite on this jjolicy. And the same is true 
of the religious people. Why, the rebel soldiers are praying 
with a great deal more earnestness, I fear, than our own troops, 
and expecting God to favor their side : for one of our soldiers, 
who had been taken prisoner, told Senator Wilson a few days 
since, that he met nothing so discouraging as the evident sin- 
cerity of those he was among, in their prayers. But we will talk 
over the merits of the case. 

What good would a proclamation of emancipation from me 
do, especially as we are now situated ? I do not want to issue 



134 



a document that the whole world will see must necessarily be 
inoperative, like the Pope's bull against the comet! Would 
my word free the slaves, when I cannot even enforce the Consti- 
tution in the rebel States ? Is there a single court, or magis- 
trate, or individual that would be influenced by it there ? And 
what reason is there to think it would have any greater effect 
upon the slaves than the late law of Congress, which I approved, 
and which offers protection and freedom to the slaves of rebel 
masters who come within our lines ? Yet I cannot learn that 
the law has caused a single slave to come over to us. And sup- 
pose they could be induced by a proclamation of freedom from 
me to throw themselves upon us, what should we do with them? 
How can we feed and care for such a multitude ? General Butler 
wrote me a few days since that he was issuing more rations to 
the slaves who have rushed to him than to all the white troops 
under his command. They eat, and that is all ; though it is 
true General Butler is feeding the whites also by the thousand ; 
for it nearly amounts to a famine there. If, now, the pressure 
of the war should call off our forces from New Orleans to defend 
some other point, what is to prevent the masters from reducing 
the blacks to slavery again ; for I am told that whenever the 
rebels take any black prisoners, free or slave, they immediately 
auction them off I They did so with those they took from a 
boat that was aground in the Tennessee river a few days ago. 
And then I am very ungenerously attacked for it ! For instance, 
when, after the late battles at and near Bull Run, an expedition 
went out from Washington, under a flag of truce, to bury the 
dead and bring in the wounded, and the rebels seized the blacks 
who went along to help, and sent them into slavery, Horace 
Greeley said in his paper that the Government would probably 
do nothing about it. What could I do ? 

Now, then, tell me, if you please, what possible result of good 
would follow the issuing of such a proclamation as you desire ? 
Understand, I raise no objections against it on leg^l or constitu- 
tional grounds, for, as commander-in-chief of the army and 
navy, in time of war I suppose I have a right to take any mea- 
sure which may best subdue the enemy, nor do I urge objections 
of a moral nature, in view of possible consequences of insurrec- 



THE martye's monument. 135 

tion and massacre at the South. I view this matter as a practi- 
cal war measure, to be decided on according to the advantages 
or disadvantages it may offer to the suj^pression of the rebellion. 

I admit that slavery is at the root of the rebellion, or at least 
its sine qua non. The ambition of politicians may have insti- 
gated them to act, but they would have been impotent without 
slavery as their instrument. I will also concede that emancipa- 
tion would help us in Europe, and convince them that we are 
incited by something more than ambition. I grant, further, that 
it would help somewhat at the North, though not so much, I 
fear, as you and those you represent imagine. Still, some ad- 
ditional strength would be added in that way to the war, and 
then, unquestionably, it would weaken the rebels by drawing 
off their laborers, which is of great importance ; but I am not 
so sure we could do much with the blacks. If we were to arm 
them, I fear that in a few weeks the arms would be in the hands 
of the rebels ; and, indeed, thus far, we have not had arms 
enough to equip our white troops. I will mention another 
thing, though it meet only your scorn and contempt. There 
are 50,000 bayonets in the Union army from the border slave 
States. It would be a serious matter if, in consequence of a 
proclamation such as you desire, they should go over to the 
rebels. I do not think they all would — not so many, indeed, as 
a year ago, or as six months ago — ^not so many to-day as yester- 
day. Every day increases their Union feeling. They are also 
getting their pride enlisted, and want to beat the rebels. Let 
me say one thing more : I think you should admit that we 
already have an important principle to rally and unite the peo- 
ple, in the fact that constitutional government is at stake. This 
is a fundamental idea going down about as deep as any thing. 

Do not misunderstand me because I have mentioned these 
objections. They indicate the difficulties that have thus far 
prevented my action in some such way as you desire, I have 
not decided against a proclamation of liberty to the slaves, but 
hold the matter under advisement. And I can assure you that 
the subject is on my mind, by day and night, more than any 
other. Whatever shall appear to be God's will I will do. I 
trust that in the freedom with which I have canvassed your 
views I have not in any respect injured your feelings. 



136 THE maetyr's monument. 

EMANCIPATION DECIDED UPON. 

Being convinced that a policy of emancipation was 
right in itself and that the time had arrived when it 
would receive that degree of public approval without 
which, right or wrong, it would have been in vain, the 
President issued on the 22d of September the following 

PRELIMINARY PROCLAMATION OF EMANCIPATION. 

I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of 
America and Commander-in-Chief of the army and navy there- 
of, do hereby proclaim and declare that hereafter, as heretofore, 
the war will be prosecuted for the object of practically restoring 
the constitutional relation between the United States and each 
of the States, and the people thereof, in which States that 
relation is or may be suspended or disturbed. 

That it is my purpose, upon the next meeting of Congress, 
to again recommend the adoption of a practical measure 
tendering pecuniary aid to the free acceptance or rejection of 
all Slave States so-called, the people whereof may not then be 
in rebellion against the United States, and which States may 
then have voluntarily adopted, or thereafter may voluntarily 
adopt, immediate or gradual abolishment of slavery within 
their respective limits ; and that the effort to colonize persons 
of African descent, with their consent, upon this continent or 
elsewhere, with the previously obtained consent of the govern- 
ments existing there, will be continued. 

That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord 
one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as 
slaves within any State, or designated part of a State, the 
people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United 
States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free ; and the 
Executive Government of the United States, including the 
military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain 
the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress 
such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for 
their actual freedom. 



THE martyr's monument. 13T 

That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, 
by proclamation, designate the States and. parts of States, if 
any, in which the people thereof respectively shall then be in 
rebellion against the United States ; and the fact that any 
State, or the peoj)le thereof, shall on that day be in good faith 
represented in the Congress of the United States, by members 
chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified 
voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the 
absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclu- 
sive evidence that such State, and the people thereof, are not 
then in rebellion against the United States. 

That attention is hereby called to an act of Congress entitled 
" An Act to make an additional Article of War,'' approved 
March 13th, 1863, and which act as is in the words and figures 
following : 

Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Bepresentatites of the 
United States of America in Congress assemNed, That hereafter 
the following shall be promulgated as an additional article of 
war for the government of the army of the United States, and 
shall be obeyed and observed as such : 

Article. — All officers or persons in the military or naval 
service of the United States are prohibited from employing any 
of the forces under their respective commands for the purpose 
of returning fugitives from service or labor who may have 
escaped from any persons to whom such service or labor is 
claimed to be due ; and any officer who shall be found guilty 
by a court-martial of violating this article shall be dismissed 
from the service. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted^ That this act shall take 
effect from and after its j)assage. 

Also, to the ninth and tenth sections of an act entitled " An 
Act to suppress Insurrection, to punish Treason and Eebellion, 
to seize and confiscate Property of Rebels, and for other j)ur- 
poses," approved July 16, 1862, and which sections are in the 
words and figures following : 

Sec. 9. And le it further enacted, That all slaves of persons 



138 THE martyr's monument. 

who shall hereafter be engaged in rebellion against the Govern- 
ment of the United States, or who shall in any way give aid or 
comfort thereto, escaping from such persons and taking refuge 
within the lines of the army ; and all slaves captured from such 
persons, or deserted by them and coming under the control of 
the Government of the United States ; and all slaves of such 
persons found on [or] being within any place occupied by rebel 
forces and afterwards occupied by forces of the United States, 
shall be deemed captives of war, and shall be forever free of 
their servitude, and not again held as slaves. 

Sec. 10. Aiid le it further enacted, That no slave escaping 
into any State, Teriitoiy, or the District of Columbia, from any 
other State, shall be delivered up, or in any way impeded or 
hindered of his liberty, except for crime, or some offence against 
the laws, unless the person claiming said fugitive shall first 
make oath that the person to whom the labor or service of such 
fugitive is alleged to be due is his lawfhl owner, and has not 
borne arms against the United States in the present rebellion, nor 
in any way given aid and comfort thereto ; and no person 
engaged m the military or naval service of the United States 
shall, under any pretence whatever, assume to decide on the 
validity of the claim of any person to the service or labor of 
any other person, or surrender up any such person to the claim- 
ant, on pain of being dismissed from the service. 

And I do hereby enjoin upon and order all persons engaged 
in the military and naval service of the United States to observe, 
obey, and enforce, within their respective spheres of service, 
the act and sections above recited. 

And the Executive will in due time recommend that all 
citizens of the United States who shall have remained loyal 
thereto throughout the rebellion, shall (upon the restoration of 
the constitutional relation between the United States and their 
respective States and people, if that relation shall have been 
suspended or disturbed) be compensated for all losses by acts 
of the United States, including the loss of slaves. 

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused 
the seal of the United States to be affixed. 



THE martyr's monument. 139 

Done at the city of Washington, this tenth clay of April, in the 
year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty- 
[l. s.] two, and of the indejoendence of the United States the 
eighty-seventh. Abraham Lincoln. 

By the President : 
Wm. 11. Se-ward, Secretary of State. 

This proclamatioD caused a very profound sensation 
throughout the country. On the evening of the 24th 
of September a large body of people assembled before 
the White House with music. The President came out 
to them and made the following speech. It is manifest, 
even more than by words, how great was his sense of 
responsibility in taking this step, and with what anxiety 
he watched for its effect upon the country. 

Felhio- Citizens — I appear before you to do little more than to 
acknowledge the courtesy you pay me, and to thank you for it. 
I have not been distinctly informed why it is that on this occa- 
sion you appear to do me this honor, though I suppose it is 
because of the Proclamation. AYhat I did, I did after a very- 
full deliberation, and under a very heavy and solemn sense of 
resj)onsibility. I can only trust in God I have made no mis- 
take. I shall make no attempt on this occasion to sustain what 
I have done or said by any comment. It is now for the country 
and the world to pass judgment, and, may be, take action upon 
it. I will say no more upon this subject. In my position I am 
environed with difficulties. Yet they are scarcely so great as 
the difficulties of those who, upon the battle-field, are endeav- 
oring to purchase with their blood and their lives, the future 
happiness and prosperity of this country. Let us never forget 
them. On the 14th and 17th days of this present month, there 
have been battles bravely, skillfully, and successfully fought. 
We do not yet know the particulars. Let us be sure that, 
in giving praise to certain individuals, we do no injustice to 
others. I only ask you at the conclusion of these few remarks, 
to give three hearty cheers to all good and brave officers and 
men who fought those successful battles. 



140 



SUSPENSION OF THE WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS. 

Early in the rebellion it had been found necessary by 
the President, in pursuance of the clause in the Constitu- 
tion providing for such action, to suspend the privalege 
of the writ of habeas corpus in a few isolated instances, 
by orders issued to military officers. But the following 
is the first proclamation ordering such suspension in re- 
gard to all persons in military custody : 

PROCLAMATION. 

Whereas, it has been necessary to call into service, not only 
volunteers, but also portions of the militia of the States by 
draft, in order to suppress the insurrection existing in the 
United States, and disloyal persons are not adequately re- 
strained by the ordinary processes of law from hindering this 
measure, and from giving aid and comfort in various ways to 
the insurrection, 

Now, therefore, be it ordered — 

Fh'st, That during the existing insurrection, and as a neces- 
sary measure for suppressing the same, all rebels and insur- 
gents, their aiders and abettors, within the United States, and 
all persons discouraging volunteer enlistments, resisting military 
drafts, or guilty of any disloyal practice affording aid and com- 
fort to the rebels against the authority of the United States, 
shall be subject to martial law, and liable to trial and punish- 
ment by court-martial or military commission. 

Second^ That the writ of habeas corjms is suspended in respect 
to all persons arrested, or who are now, or hereafter during the 
rebellion shall be, imprisoned in any fort, camp, arsenal, mili- 
tary prison, or other place of confinement, by any military au- 
thority, or by the sentence of any court-martial or military 
commission. 

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal, and 
caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. 



THE martyr's monument. 141 

Done at the city of "Washington, this twenty-fourth day of 
September, in the year of our Lord one thousand 
[l. s.] eight hundred and sixty-two, and of the independ- 
ence of the United States the eighty-seventh. 

Abraham Luscoln. 
By the President : 

William H. Szwaed, Secretary of State. 

GENERAL M'CLELLAN AGAIN. 

On the 6th of October, after a visit made by the Pres- 
ident to the Army of the Potomac, General McClellan 
received an order through General Halleck, then gen- 
eral-in-chief, to cross the Potomac immediately and give 
battle or drive the enemy southward. But the com- 
mander was not yet ready and went into correspondence 
about supplies and reinforcements. Meantime the rebel 
General of cavalry, Stuart, rode round and round him, 
going into Pennsylvania, and setting him openly at 
naught. Upon this, Mr. Lincoln addressed him the fol- 
lowing letter, which elicited only replies, the nature of 
which is clearly enough shown by the President's brief 
dispatches which are appended to it. 

Executive Mansion, Washington, Oct. 13, 1S62. 

My Dear Sir — You remember my speaking to you of what I 
called your overcautiousness. Are you not overcautious when 
you assume that you can not do what the enemy is constantly 
doing ? Should you not claim to be at least his equal in prowess, 
and act upon the claim ? 

As I understand, you telegraphed General Halleck that you 
can not subsist your army at Winchester, imless the railroad 
from Harper's Ferry to that point be put in working order. 
But the enemy does now subsist his army at Winchester, at a 
distance nearly twice as great from railroad transportation as 
you would have to do without the railroad last named. He 



142 



now wagons from Culpepper Conrt-House, whicli is just about 
twice as far as you would liave to do from Harper's Ferry. He 
is certainly not more than half as well provided with wagons 
as you are. I certainly should be pleased for you to have the 
advantage of the railroad from Harper's FeiTy to Winchester ; 
but it wastes all the remainder of autumn to give it to you, and, 
in fact, ignores the question of time, which can not and must 
not be ignored. 

Again, one of the standard maxims of war, as you know, is, 
" to operate upon the enemy's communications as much as pos- 
sible without exposing your own." You seem to act as if this 
applies against you, but can not apply in your favor. Change 
positions with the enemy, and think you not he would break 
your communication with Richmond within the next twenty- 
four hours ? You dread his going into Pennsylvania. But if 
he does so in full force, he gives up his communications to you 
absolutely, and you have nothing to do but to follow and ruin 
him ; if he does so with less than full force, fall upon and beat 
what is left behind all the easier. 

Exclusive of the water line, you are now nearer Richmond 
than the enemy is by the route that you can and he must take^ 
Why can you not reach there before him, unless you admit that 
he is more than your equal on a march ? His route is the arc 
of a circle, while yours is the chord. The roads are as good on 
yours as on his. 

You know I desired, but did not order you, to cross the Poto- 
mac below instead of above the Shenandoah and Blue Ridge. My 
idea was, that this would at once menace the enemy's communi- 
cations, which I would seize if he would permit. If he should 
move northward, I would follow him 'closely, holding his com- 
munications. If he should prevent our seizing his communi- 
cations, and move toward Richmond, I would press closely to 
him, fight him if a favorable opportunity should present, and 
at least try to beat him to Richmond on the inside track. I say 
" try ; " if we never try, we shall never succeed. If he make a 
stand at Winchester, moving neither north nor south, I would 
fight him there, on the idea that if we cannot beat him when 
he bears the wastage of coming to us, we never can when we 



THE martyr's monument. 143 

bear the wastage of going to him. This proposition is a simple 
truth, and is too important to be lost sight of for a moment. 
In coming to us, he tenders us an advantage which we should 
not waive. We should not so operate as to merely drive him 
away. As we must beat him somewhere, or fail finally, we can 
do it, if at all, easier near to us than far away. If we cannot 
beat the enemy where he now is, we never can, he again being 
within the intrencliments of Richmond. Recurring to the idea 
of going to Richmond on the inside track, the facility of sup- 
plying from the side away from the enemy is remarkable, as it 
were, by the difierent spokes of a wheel, extending from the 
hub toward the rim, and this whether you move directly by the 
chord, or on the inside arc, hugging the Blue Ridge more 
closely. The chord-line, as you see, carries you by Aldie, Hay- 
market, and Fredericksburg, and you see how turnpikes, rail- 
roads, and finally the Potomac by Aquia Creek, meet you at all 
points from Washington. The same, only the lines lengthened 
a little, if you press closer to the Blue Ridge part of the way. 
The gaps through the Blue Ridge I understand to be about the 
following distances from Hai-per's Feri-y, to wit ; Vestal's, five 
miles ; Gregory's, thirteen ; Snicker's, eighteen ; Ashby's, 
twenty-eight ; Manassas, thirty-eight ; Chester, forty-five ; and 
Thornton's, fifty-three. I should think it preferable to take the 
route nearest the enemy, disabling him to make an important 
move without your knowledge, and compelling him to keep his 
forces together for dread of you. The gaps would enable you 
to attack if you should wish. For a great part of the way 
you would be practically between the enemy and both Washing- 
ton and Richmond, enabling us to spare you the greatest num- 
ber of troops from here. When, at length, running to 
Richmond ahead of h.im enables him to move this way, if he 
does so, turn and attack him in the rear. But I think he 
should be engaged long before such point is reached. It is all 
easy if our troops march as well as the enemy, and it is unmanly 
to say they cannot do it. This letter is in no sense an order. 



Yours, truly, 

Abraham Llncoln. 



Major-Gcneral McClellan. 



144 THE martyr's monument. 

War Departmknt, "Washington, Oct. 25, 1862. 

I have just read your dispatch about sore-tongue and fatigued 
horses. Will you pardon me for asking what the horses of 
your army have done since the battle of Antietam that fatigues 
anything? Abkaham Lincoln. 

ExEctmvE Mansion, ) 
Washington, Oct. 26, 1862. J 

Yours in reply to mine about horses received. Of course 
you know the facts better than I. Still, two considerations 
remain: Stuart's cavalry outmarched ours, having certainly 
done more marked service on the Peninsula and everywhere 
since. Secondly : will not a movement of our army be a relief 
to the cavalry, compelling the enemy to concentrate instead of 
" foraging " in squads everywhere ? But I am so rejoiced to 
learn from your dispatch to General Halleck that you began 
crossing the river this morning. Abraham Lincoln. 

Executive Mansion, ) 
Washington, Oct. 26, 1862. ) 

Yours of yesterday received. Most certainly I intend no 
injustice to any, and if I have done any I deeply regret it. To 
be told, after more than five weeks' total inaction of the army, 
and during which period we had sent to that army every fresh 
horse we possibly could, amounting in the whole to 7,918, that 
the cavalry horses were too much fatigued to move, presented 
a very cheerless, almost hopeless, prospect for the future, and 
it may have forced something of impatience into my dispatches. 
K not recruited and rested then, when could they ever be ? I 
suppose the river is rising, and I am glad to believe you are 
crossing. A. Lincoln. 

Executive Mansion, ) 
Washington, Oct. 27, 1862. f 

Your dispatch of 3 p.m. to-day, in regard to filling up old 
regiments with drafted men, is received, and the request therein 
shall be complied with as far as practicable. And now I ask a 
distinct answer to the question, " Is it your purpose not to go 
into action again till the men now being drafted in the States 
are incorporated in the old regiments ? " A. Lincoln. 



THE martyr's monument. 145 

DEFENCE OF GENERAL M'CLELLAN. 

Sorely tried as President Lincoln was by General 
McClellan, he yet sustained him to the best of his ability 
and with great magnanimity as long as he was kept in 
command. On the 6th of August a war meeting was 
held in Washington, at which Mr. Lincoln was present, 
and delivered the following brief address. It was just 
after General M'Clellan's retreat across the Peninsula, 
when popular feeling was turning strongly against him. 
Whoever will bear in mind the correspondence which 
took place about that time, and which was not published 
until long after will fin4 no trace of it in this generous 
defence. 

Felhw- Citizens — I believe there is no precedent for my ap- 
pearing before yon on this occasion, but it is also true that there 
is no precedent for your being here yourselves, and I offer, in 
justification of myself and of you, that, upon examination, I 
have found nothing in the Constitution against it. I, however, 
have an impression that there are younger gentlemen who will 
entertain you better, and better address your understanding 
than I will or could, and therefore I propose but to detain you 
a moment longer. 

I am very little inclined on any occasion to say anything 
unless I hope to produce some good by it. The only thing I 
think of just now not likely to be better said by some one else, 
is a matter in which we have heard some other persons blamed 
for what I did myself. There has been a very wide-spread at- 
tempt to have a quarrel between General McClellan and the 
Secretary of War. Now, I occupy a position that enables me 
to observe, that these two gentlemen are not nearly so deep in 
the quarrel as some pretending to be their friends. General 
McClellan's attitude is such that, in the very selfishness of his 
nature, he cannot but wish to be successful, and I hope he will 
— and the Secretary of War is in precisely the same situation. 
If the military commanders in the field cannot be successful, not 



146 THE martyr's monument. 

only the Secretary of War, but myself, for the time being the 
master of them both, cannot but be failures. I know General 
McClellan wishes to be successful, and I know he does not wish 
it any more than the Secretary of War for him, and both of 
them together no more than I wish it. Sometimes we have a 
dispute about how many men General McClellan has had, and 
those who would disparage him say that }ie had a very large 
number, and those who would disparage the Secretary of 
War insist that General McClellan has had a very small number, 
The basis for this is, there is always a wide difference, and on 
this occasion, perhaps a wider one than usual, between the 
grand total on McClellan's rolls and the men actually fit for 
duty ; and those who would disparage him talk of the grand 
total on paper, and those who would disparage the Secretary of 
War talk of those at present fit for duty. General McClellan 
lias sometimes asked for things that the Secretary of War did 
not give him. General McClellan is not to blame for asking 
what he wanted and needed, and the Secretary of War is not to 
blame for not giving when he had none to give. And I say 
here, as far as I know, the Secretary of War has withheld no 
one thing at any time in my power to give him. I have no ac- 
cusation against him. I believe he is a brave and able man, 
and I stand here, as justice requires me to do, to take upon my- 
self what has been charged on the Secretary of War, as with- 
holding from him. 

I have talked longer than I expected to do, and now I avail 
myself of my privilege of saying no more. 

OBSERVANCE OF SUNDAY. 

A needless amount of labor on the one hand, and of 
noisy hilarity upon the other, upon Sunday, having been 
noticed in the army, Mr. Lincoln issued the following cir- 
cular-letter upon that subject : 

Executive Mansion, Washington, November 16, 1862. 

The President, commander-in-chief of the army and navy, 
desires and enjoins the orderly observance of the Sabbath by the 



THE martyr's monument. 147 

officers and men in the military and naval service. The imjDor- 
tance for man and beast of the prescribed weekly rest, the 
sacred rights of Christian soldiers and sailors, a becoming 
deference to the best sentiment of a Christian people, and a due 
regard for the Divine will, demand that Sunday labor in the 
army and navy be reduced to the measure of strict necessity. 

The discipline and character of the national forces should not 
suffer, nor the cause they defend be imperiled by the profanation 
of the day or name of the Most High. " At this time of public 
distress," adopting the words of Washington in 1776, "men 
may find enough to do in the service of God and their country, 
without abandoning themselves to vice and immorality." The 
first general order issued by the Father of his Country, after 
the Declaration of Independence, indicates the spirit in which 
our institutions were founded, and should ever be defended. 
"The general hopes and trusts that every officer and man will 
endeavor to live and act as becomes a Christian soldier defend- 
ing the dearest rights and libei-ties of his country." 

A. Lincoln. 

ELECTIONS IN LOUISIANA. 

About this time there was an effort making to get up 
some sort of make-shift representation of Louisiana *in 
Congress. How wrongful was the often repeated charge 
that Mr. Lincoln endeavored to secure support for his 
administration and a reelection for himself by irregular 
and violent means of conducting elections, and how 
opposed he was in feeling, as well as in policy to any such 
methods, are strikingly shown in the following letter : 

ExECTiTivE Mansion, Washington, November 21, 1862. 
Bear Sir— Dr. Kennedy, bearer of this, has some apprehension 
that Federal officers, not citizens of Louisiana, may be set up 
as candidates for Congress in that State. Li my view there 
could be no possible object in such an election. We do not 
particularly need members of Congress from those States to en- 



148 THE martyr's monument. 

able us to get along with legislation here. What we do want 
is the conclusive evidence that respectable citizens of Louisiana 
are willing to be members of Congress and to swear support to 
the Constitution, and that other respectable citizens there are 
willing to vote for them and send them. To send a jDarcel of 
Northern men here as representatives, elected as would be un- 
derstood (and perhaps really so), at the point of the bayonet, 
would be disgraceful and outrageous ; and were I a member of 
Congress here, I would vote against admitting any such man to 
a seat. Yours, very truly, A. Lincoln. 

Hon. G. F. SnEPLEY. 

MESSAGE TO CONGRESS, DEC. Ist, 1862. 

What had been the recent experience of the country, 
and what was its internal condition and its relations with 
foreign powers, are very fully and lucidly set forth in 
Mr. Lincoln's Message to Congress at the opening of its 
session of 1862-3, which follows : 

Fellow- Citizens of the Senate and House of Hepresentatives — Since 
your last annual assembling, another year of health and bounti- 
ful harvests has passed, and while it has not pleased the Al- 
mighty to bless us with a return of peace, we can but press on, 
guided by the best light He gives us, trusting that, in his own 
good time and wise way, all will be well. 

The correspondence, touching foreign affairs, which has taken 
place during the last year, is herewith submitted, in virtual 
compliance mth a request to that effect made by the House of 
Kepresentatives near the close of the last session of Congress. 
If the condition of our relations with other nations is less 
gratifying than it has usually been at former periods, it is cer- 
tainly more satisfactory than a nation so unhappily distracted 
as we are might reasonably have apprehended. In the month 
of June last there were some grounds to expect tUat the mari- 
time Powers which, at the beginning of our domestic difficul- 
ties, so unwisely and so unnecessarily, as we think, recognized 
the insurgents as a belligerent, would soon recede from that po- 



THE martyr's monument. 149 

sition, which has proved only less injurious to themselves than 
to our country. But the temporary reverses which afterward 
befell the National arms, and which were exaggerated by our 
own disloyal citizens abroad, have hitherto delayed that act of 
simple justice. 

The civil war which has so radical^ changed for the moment 
the occupations and habits of the American people, has neces- 
sarily disturbed the social condition, and affected very deeply 
the prosperity of the nations with which we have carried on a 
commerce that has been steadily increasing throughout a period 
of half a century. It has, at the same time, excited political 
ambitions and apprehensions which have produced a profound 
agitation throughout the civilized world. In this unusual agi- 
tation we have forborne from taking part in any controversy 
between foreign states, and between parties or factions in such 
states. We have attempted no i^roiDagandism, and acknowledged 
no revolution. But we have left to every nation the exclusive 
conduct and management of its own affairs. Our struggle has 
been, of course, contemplated by foreign nations with reference 
less to its own merits, than to its supposed and often exaggera- 
ted effects, and consequences resulting to those nations them- 
selves. Nevertheless, complaint on the part of this Government, 
even if it were just, would certainly be unwise. 

The treaty with Great Britain for the suppression of the slave 
trade has been put into ojDeration with a good ]Drospect of com- 
plete success. It is an occasion of special pleasure to acknowl- 
edge that the execution of it on the part of Her Majesty's 
Government, has been marked with a jealous respect for the 
authority of the United States and the rights of their moral 
and loyal citizens. 

The convention with Hanover for the abolition of the stade 
dues has been carried into full effect, under the act of Congress 
for that purpose. 

A blockade of three thousand miles of seacoast could not be 
established and vigorously enforced, in a season of great couj- 
mercial activity like the present, mthout committing occasional 
mistakes, and inflicting unintentional injuries upon foreign na- 
tions and their subjects. 



150 



A civil war occurring in a country where foreigners reside 
and carry on trade under treaty stipulations, is necessarily fruit- 
ful of complaints of the violation of neutral rights. All such 
collisions tend to excite misapprehensions, and possibly to pro- 
duce mutual reclamations between nations which have a com- 
mon interest in preserving peace and friendship. In clear cases 
of these kinds I have, so far as possible, heard and redressed 
complaints which have been presented by friendly Powers. 
There is still, however, a large and augmenting number of 
doubtful cases, upon which the Government is unable to agree 
with the Governments whose jDrotection is demanded by the 
claimants. There are, moreover, many cases in which the Uni- 
ted States, or their citizens, suffer wrongs from the naval or 
military authorities of foreign nations, which the Governments 
of these states are not at once prepared to redress. I have pro- 
posed to some of the foreig-n states thus interested, mutual con- 
ventions to examine and adjust such complaints. This ^d reposi- 
tion has been made especially to Great Britain, to France, to 
Spain, and to Prussia. In each case it has been kindly received, 
but has not yet been formally adopted. 

I deem it my duty to recommend an appropriation in behalt 
of the owners of the Norwegian bark Admiral P. Tordenskiold, 
which vessel was, in May, 1861, prevented by the commander 
of the blockading force off Charleston from leaving that port 
with cargo, notwithstanding a similar privilege had, shortly 
before, been granted to an English vessel. I have directed the 
Secretary of State to cause the papers in the case to be com- 
municated to the proper committees. 

Applications have been made to me by many free Americans 
of African descent to favor their emigration, with a view to such 
colonization as was contemj)lated in recent acts of Congress. 
Other parties, at home and abroad — some from interested mo- 
tives, others upon patriotic considerations, and still others in- 
fluenced by philanthropic sentiments — have suggested similar 
measures ; while, on the other hand, several of the Spanish- 
American Eepublics have protested against the sending of such 
colonies to their respective territories. Under these circum- 
stances I have declined to move any such colony to any state 



THE martyr's monument. 151 

without first obtaining the consent of its Government, with an 
agreement on its part to receive and protect such emigrants in 
all the rights of freemen ; and I have at the same time offered 
to the several states situated within the tropics, or having colo- 
nies there, to negotiate with them, subject to the advice and 
consent of the Senate, to favor the voluntary emigration of per- 
sons of that class to their respective territories, U23on conditions 
th^t shall be equal, just, and humane. Liberia and Hayti are, as 
yet, the only countries to which colonists of African descent 
from here could go with certainty of being received and adopted 
as citizens; and I regret to say such jDcrsons, contemplating 
colonization, do not seem so willing to migrate to those coun- 
tries as to some others, nor so williag as I think their interest 
demands. I believe, however, opinion among them in this re- 
spect is improving ; and that ere long there will be an aug- 
mented and considerable migration to both these countries from 
the United States. 

The new commercial treaty between the United States and 
the Sultan of Turkey has been carried into execution. 

A commercial and consular treaty has been negotiated, subject 
to the Senate's consent, with Liberia ; and a similar negotiation 
is now pending with the Republic of Hayti. A considerable 
improvement of the national commerce is expected to result 
from these measures. 

Our relations with Great Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, 
Russia, Prussia, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, the Netherlands, 
Italy, Rome, and the other EarojDean states, remain undisturbed. 
Very favorable relations also continue to be maintained with 
Turkey, Morocco, China, and Japan. 

During the last year there has not only been no change of our 
previous relations with the Independent States of our own con- 
tinent, but more friendly sentiments than have heretofore existed 
are believed to be entertained by these neighbors, whose safety 
and progress are so intimately connected with our own. This 
statement especially applies to Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, 
Honduras, Peru, and Chili. 

The commission under the convention with the Republic of 
New Grenada closed its session without having audited and 



152 THE MARTYR'S MONUMENT. 

passed upon all the claims wliicli were submitted to it. A 
proposition is pending to revive the convention, that it be able 
to do more complete justice. The joint commission between 
the United States and the Republic of Costa Rica has completed 
its labors and submitted its report. 

I have favored the project for connecting the United States 
with Europe by an Atlantic telegraph, and a similar project to 
extend the telegraph from San Francisco to connect by a Pacific 
telegraph with the line which is being extended across the Rus- 
sian Empire. 

The Tenitories of the United States, with unimportant excep- 
tions, have remained undisturbed by the civil war ; and they 
are exhibiting such evidence of prosi>eiity as justifies an expec- 
tation that some of them will soon be in a condition to be 
organized as States, and be constitutionally admitted into the 
Federal Union. 

The immense mineral resources of some of those Ten-itories 
ought to be developed as rapidly as possible. Every step in 
that direction would have a tendency to improve the revenues 
of the Government and diminish the burdens of the people. It 
is worthy of your serious consideration whether some extraordi- 
nary measures to promote that end cannot be adopted. The 
means which suggests itself as most likely to be effective, is a 
scientific exploration of the mineral regions in those Territories, 
with a view to the publication of its results at home and in for- 
eign countries — results which cannot fail to be auspicious. 

The condition of the finances will claim your most diligent 
consideration. The vast expenditures incident to the military 
and naval operations required for the supiDression of the rebel- 
lion have been hitherto met with a promptitude and certainty 
imusual in similar circumstances; and the public credit has 
been fully maintained. The continuance of the Vvar, however, 
and the increased disbursements made necessary by the aug- 
mented forces now in the field, demand your best reflections as 
to the best modes of providing the necessary revenue, without 
injury to business, and with the least possible burdens upon 
labor. 

The susi^ension of specie payments by the banks, soon after 



153 



the commencement of your last session, made large issues of 
United States notes unavoidable. In no other way could the 
payment of the troops and the satisfaction of other just de- 
mands, be so economically or so well provided for. The judi- 
cious legislation of Congress, securing the receivability of these 
notes for loans and internal duties, and making them a legal 
tender for other debts, has made them a universal currency, and 
has satisfied, partially at least, and for the time, the long felt 
want of an uniform circulating medium, saving thereby to the 
people immense sums in discounts and exchanges. 

A return to specie payments, however, at the earliest period 
comj)atible with due regard to all interests concerned, should 
ever be kept in view. Fluctuations in the value of currency are 
always injurious, and to reduce these fluctuations to the lowest 
possible point will always be a leading purpose in wise legisla- 
tion. Convertibility, prompt and certaiu convertibility into 
coin, is generally acknowledged to be the best and surest safe- 
guard against them ; and it is extremely doubtful whether a 
circulation of 'United States notes, payable in coin, and suffici- 
ently large for the wants of the peoj)le, can be permanently, use- 
fully, and safely maintained. 

Is there, then, any other mode in which the necessary provision 
for the public wants can be made, and the great advantages of 
a safe and uniform currency secured ? 

I know of none which promises so certain results, and is at 
the same time so unobjectionable as the organization of banking 
associations, under a general act of Congress, well guarded in. 
its provisions. To such associations the Government might 
furnish circulating notes, on the security of United States bonds 
dej^osited in the Treasury. These notes, prepared under the 
supervision of proper officers, being uniform in appearance and 
security, and convertible always into coin, would at once pro- 
tect labor against the evils of a vicious currency, and facilitate 
comm^erce by cheap and safe exchanges. 

A moderate reservation from the interest on the bonds would 
compensate the United States for the preparation and distribu- 
tion of the notes, and a general supervision of the system, and 
would lighten the burden of that part of the public debt 

•7* 



154 THE martyr's monument. 

employed as securities. The public credit, moreover, would be 
greatly iuiproved, and the negotiation of new loans greatly facil- 
itated by the steady market demand for Government bonds 
which the adoption of the proposed system would create. 

It is an additional recommendation of the measure, of con- 
siderable weight, in my judgment, that it would reconcile as 
far as possible all existing interests, by the opportunity offered 
to existing institutions to reorganize under the act, substitut- 
ing only the secured uniform national circulation for the local 
and various circulation, secured and unsecured, now issued by 
them. 

The receipts into the Treasury, from all sources, including 
loans, and balance from the preceding year, for the fiscal year 
ending on the 30th of June, 1863, were $583,885,247 60, of 
which sum $49,056,397 63 were derived from customs ; $1,795,- 
331 73 from the direct tax ; from public lands, $152,203 77 ; 
from miscellaneous sources, $931,787 64 ; from loans in all forius, 
$529,692,460 50. The remainder, $2,257,065 80, was the bal- 
ance from last year. 

The disbursements during the same j)eriod were for Congres- 
sional, Executive, and Judicial purposes, $5,939,009 29 ; for for- 
eign intercourse, $1,339,710 35; for miscellaneous expenses, 
including the mints, loans, i^ost-office deficiencies, collection of 
revenue, and other like charges, $14,129,771 50; for expenses 
under the Interior Department, $3,102,985 52 ; under the War 
Department, $394,368,407 36 ; under the Navy Department, 
$42,674,569 69 ; for interest on the public debt, $13,190,324 45 ; 
and for payment of public debt, including reimbursement of 
temj)orary loan, and redemptions, $96,096,922 09 ; making an 
aggregate of $570,841,700 25, and leaving a balance in the 
Treasury on the 1st day of July, 1862, of $13,043,546 81. 

It should be observed that the sum of $96,096,922 09, ex- 
pended for reimbursements and redemption of public debt, 
being included also in the loans made, may be proi^erly de- 
ducted, both from receipts and expenditures, leading the actual 
receipts for the year, $487,788,324 97, and the expenditures, 
$474,744,778.16. 

Other information on the subject of the finances will be found 



THE martyr's monument. 155 

in the report of the Secretary of the Treasury, to whose state- 
ments and views I invite your most candid and considerate 
attention. 

The reports of the Secretaries of War and of the Navy are 
herewith transmitted. These reports, though lengthy, are 
scarcely more than brief abstracts of the very numerous and 
extensive transactions and operations conducted through those 
Departments. Nor could I give a summary of them here, 
upon any princiiDle which would admit of its being much shorter 
than the reports themselves. I therefore content myself with 
laying the reports before you, and asking your attention to 
them. 

It gives me pleasure to report a decided improvement in the 
financial condition of the Post-Ofiice Department, as compared 
with several preceding years. The receipts for the fiscal year 
1861 amounted to $8,349,296 40, which embraced the revenue 
from all the States of the Union for three-quarters of that year. 
Notwithstanding the cessation of revenue from the so-called 
seceded States during the last fiscal year, the increase of the 
correspondence of the loyal States has been sufficient to pro- 
duce a revenue during the same year of $8,299,820 90, being 
only $50,000 less than was derived from all the States of the 
Union during the previous year. The expenditures show a 
still more favorable result. The amount expended in 1861 was 
"$13,006,759 11. For the last year the amount has been reduced 
to $11,125,364 13, showing a decrease of about $2,481,000 in 
the expenditures as compared with the preceding year, and 
about $3,750,000 as compared with the fiscal year 1860. The 
deficiency in the Department for the previous year was $4,551,- 
966 98. For the last fiscal year it was reduced to $2,112,814 57. 
These favorable results are in part owing to the cessation of 
mail service in the insurrectionary States, and in part to a care- 
ful re\dew of all expenditures in that Department in the inter- 
est of economy. The efficiency of the postal service, it is 
believed, has also been much improved. The Postmaster-Gen- 
eral has also opened a correspondence, through the Department 
of State, yvith foreign governments, proposing a convention of 
postal representatives for the purpose of simjplifying the rates 



156 THE martyr's monument. 

of foreign postage, and to expedite the foreign mails. This 
proposition, equally important to our adopted citizens and to 
the commercial interests of this country, has been favorably 
entertained and agreed to by all the governments from whom 
replies have been received. 

I ask the attention of Congress to the suggestions of the Post- 
master-General in his report respecting the further legislation 
required, in his opinion, for the benefit of the postal service. 
. The Secretary of the Interior reports as follows in regard to 
the public lands : 

" The public lands have ceased to be a source of revenue. 
From the 1st July, 1861, to the 30th September, 1862, the en- 
tire cash receipts from the sale of lands were $137,476 26 — a 
sum much less than the expenses of our land system during the 
same period. The homestead law^, ^vhich will take efi'ect on the 
1st of January next, offers such inducements to settlers that 
sales for cash cannot be expected, to an extent sufficient to meet 
the expense of the General Land Office, and the cost of survey- 
ing and bringing the land into market." 

The discrepancy between the sum here stated as arising from 
the sales of the public lauds, and the sum derived from the same 
source as reported from the Treasury Department, arises, I un- 
derstand, from the fact that the i^eriods of time, though appa- 
rently, were not really coincident at the beginning-point — the 
Treasury report including a considerable sum now which had 
previously been reported from the Interior — sufficiently large 
to greatly overreach the sum derived from the three months 
now reported upon by the Interior, and not by the Treasury. 

The Indian tribes upon our frontiers have, during the past year, 
manifested a spirit of insubordination, and, at several points, 
have engaged in open hostilities against the white settlements 
in their vicinity. The tribes occuiDying the Indian country 
south of Kansas renounced their allegiance to the United States, 
and entered into treaties with the insurgents. Those who re- 
mained loyal to the United States were driven from the country. 
The chief of the Cherokees has visited this city for the pui-pose 
of restoring the former relations of the tribe with the United 
States. He alleges that they were constrained, by superior 



THE maetyr's monument. 157 

force, to enter into treaties vath the insurgents, and that the 
United States neglected to furnish the protection which their 
treaty stipulations required. 

In the month of August last, the Sioux Indians in Minnesota, 
attacked the settlements in their vicinity with extreme ferocity, 
killing, indiscriminately, men, women, and children. This at- 
tack was wholly unexpected, and therefore no means of defence' 
had been provided. It is estimated that not less than eight 
hundred persons were killed by the Indians, and a large amount- 
of property was destroyed. How this outbreak was- induced is 
not definitely known, and suspicions, which may be unjust, need 
not to be stated. Information was received by the Indian Bu- 
reau, from difiierent sources, about the time hostilities were 
commenced, that a simultaneous attack was to be made upon 
the white settlements l)y all the tribes between the Mississippi 
River and the Rocky Mountains. The State of Minnesota has 
suffered great injury from this Indian war. A large portion of 
her territory has been depopulated, and a severe loss has been 
sustained by the destruction of i^roperty. The people of that 
State manifest much anxiety for the removal of the tribes beyond 
the limits of the State, as a guarantee against future hostilities. 
The Commissioner of Indian Affairs will furnish full details. I 
submit for your especial consideration, w^hether our Indian sys- 
tem shall not be remodeled. Many wise and good men have 
impressed me with the belief that this can be profitably done. 

I submit a statement of the proceedings of commissioners, 
which shows the progress that has been made in the enterprise 
of constructing the Pacific railroad. And this suggests the ear- 
liest completion of this road, and also the favorable action of 
Congress upon the projects nov\r pending before them for en- 
larging the capacities of the great canals in New York and Illi- 
nois, as being of vital and rapidly increasing importance to the 
whole nation, and especially to the vast interior region herein- 
after to be noticed at some greater length. I purpose having 
prepared and laid before you at an early day some interesting 
and valuable statistical information upon this subject. The 
military and commercial imijortance of enlarging the Rlinois 
and Michigan canal, and improving the Illinois River, is pre- 



158 THE martyr's monument. 

sented in the report of Col. Webster to the Secretary of War, 
and now transmitted to Congress. I respectfully ask attention 
to it. 

To carry out the provisions of the act of Congress of the 15th 
of May last, I have caused the Department of Agriculture of the 
United States to be organized. 

The commissioner informs me that within the period of a few 
months this department has established an extensive system of 
correspondence and exchanges, both at home and abroad, which 
promises to effect highly beneficial results in the development 
of a correct knowledge of recent improvements in agriculture, 
in the introduction of new products, and in the collection of 
the agricultural statistics of the difi"erent States. Also that it 
will soon be prepared to distribute largely seeds, cereals, plants 
and cuttings, and has already published and liberally diffused 
much valuable information in anticipation of a more elaborate 
report, which will in due time be furnished, embracing some 
valuable tests in chemical science now in progress in the lab- 
oratory. 

The creation of this department was for the more immediate 
benefit of a large class of our most valuable fellow-citizens ; and 
I trust that the liberal basis upon which it has been organized 
will not only meet your approbation, but that it will realize, at 
no distant day, all the fondest anticipations of its most san- 
guine friends, and become the fruitful source of advantage to 
all our people. 

On the 22d day of September last, a proclamation was issued 
by the Executive, a copy of which is herewith submitted. 

In accordance with the purpose expressed in the second par- 
agraph of that paper, I now respectfully call your attention to 
what may be called " comj)ensated emancipation." 

A nation may be said to consist of its territory, its people, 
and its laws. The territory is the only part which i»of certain 
durability. " One generation passeth away, and another gener- 
ation Cometh, but the earth abideth forever." It is of the first 
importance to duly consider and estimate this ever-enduring 
part. That portion of the earth's surface which is owned and 
inhabited by the people of the United States, is well adapted to 



THE martyr's monument. 159 

the home of one national family ; and it is not well adapted for 
two or more. Its vast extent, and ita variety of climate and 
productions, are of advantage in this age for one people, what- 
ever they might have been in former ages. Steam, telegraphs 
and intelligence have brought these to be an advantageous com- 
bination for one united people. 

In the Inaugural Address I briefly pointed out the total in- 
adequacy of disunion as a remedy for the diflferenes between the 
people of the two sections. I did so in language which I can 
not improve, and which, therefore, I beg to repeat : 

" One section of our country believes slavery is right, and 
ought to be extended, while the other believes it is wrong, and 
ought not to be extended. This is the only substantial dispute. 
The fugitive slave-clause of the Constitution, and the law for the 
suppression of the foreign slave-trade, are each as well enforced, 
perhaps, as any law can ever be in a community where the 
moral sense of the people imperfectly supports the law itself. 
The great body of the people abide by the dry legal obligation 
in both cases, and a few break over in each. This, I think, can 
not be i^erfectly cured ; and it would be worse, in both cases, 
after the separation of the sections than before. The foreign 
slave-trade, now imperfectly suppressed, would be ultimately 
revived without restriction in one section; while fugitive slaves, 
now only partially surrendered, would not be surrendered at all 
by the other. 

" Physically sx)eaking, we can not separate. We can not re- 
move our respective sections from each other, nor build an im- 
passable wall between them. A husband and wife may be di- 
vorced, and go out of the presence and beyond the reach of 
each other ; but the different parts of our country can not do 
this. They can not but remain face to face ; and intercourse, 
either amicable or hostile, must continue between them. Is it 
possible, 4hen, to make that intercourse more advantageous or 
more satisfactory after separation than before? Can aliens 
make treaties easier than friends can make laws ? Can treaties 
be more faithfully enforced between aliens than laws can among 
friends ? Suppose you go to war, you can not fight always ; and 
when, after much loss on both sides, and no gain on either, you 



160 THE MARTYR'S MONUMENT. 

cease fighting, the identical old questions, as to terms of inter- 
course, are again upon you." 

There is no line, straight or crooked, suitable for a national 
boundary, upon which to divide. Trace through, from east to 
west, upon the line between the free and slave country, and we 
shall find a little more than one-third of its length are rivers, 
easy to be crossed, and populated, or soon to be populated, 
thickly upon both sides ; while nearly all its remaining length 
are merely surveyors' lines, over which people may walk back 
and forth without any consciousness of their presence. No 
part of this line can be made any more difiicult to pass by 
writing it down on paper or parchment as a national boundary. 
The fact of separation, if it comes, gives up, on the part of the 
seceding sectiopB, the fugitive-slave clause, along with all other 
constitutional obligations upon the section seceded from, while 
I should expect no treaty stipulation would ever be made to 
take its place. 

But there is another difficulty. The great interior region, 
bounded east by the AUeghanies, north by the British domin- 
ions, west by the Rocky Mountains, and south by the line along 
which the culture of com and cotton meets, and which includes 
part of Virginia, part of Tennessee, all of Kentucky, Ohio, 
Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouii, Kansas, Iowa, 
Minnesota, and the Territories of Dakota, Nebraska, and part 
of Colorado, already has above ten millions of people, and will 
have fifty millions within fifty years if not prevented by any 
political folly or mistake. It contains more than one-third of 
the country owned by the United States — certainly more than 
one million of square miles. Once half as populous as Massa- 
chusetts already is, it would have more than seventy-five millions 
of people. ^ A glance at the map shows that, territorially speak- 
ing, it is the great body of the Republic. The other parts are 
but marginal borders to it, the magnificent region sloping west 
from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific being the deepest, and 
also the richest in undeveloped resources. In the production 
of provisions, grains, grasses, and all which proceed from them, 
this great interior region is naturally one of the most important 
of the world. Ascertain from the statistics the small propor- 



THE martyr's monument. 161 

tion of the region ■which has as yet been brought into cultiva- 
tion, and also the large and rapidly increasing amount of its 
products, and we shall be overwhelmed with the magnitude of 
the prospect presented. And yet this region has no seacoast — 
touches no ocean anywhere. As part of one nation, its people 
now find, and may forever find, their way to Europe by New 
York, to South America and Africa by New Orleans, and to Asia 
by San Francisco. But separate our common country into two 
nations, as designed by the present rebellion, and every man of 
this great interior region is thereby cut off from some one or 
more of these outlets, not perhaps by a physical barrier, but by 
embarrassing and onerous trade regulations. 

And this is true, wherever a dividing or boundary line may 
be fixed. Place it between the now free and slave country, or 
, place it south of Kentucky, or north of Ohio, and still the 
truth remains that none south of it can trade to any port or 
place north of it, and none north of it can trade to any port or 
place south of it except upon terms dictated by a government 
foreign to them. These outlets, east, west, and south, are 
indispensable to the well-being of the people inhabiting and to 
inhabit this vast interior region. Which of the three may be 
the best is no proper question. All are better than either, and 
all of right belong to that people and to their successors forever. 
True to themselves, they will not ask where a line of separa- 
tion shall be, but will vow rather that there shall be no such 
line. Nor are the marginal regions less interested in these 
communications to and through them to the great outside 
world. They too, and each of thcEji, must have access to this 
Egypt of the West, without paying toll at the crossing of any 
national boundary. 

Our national strife spiings not from our permanent part ; not 
from the land we inhabit; not from our national homestead. 
There is no possible severing of this but would multiply and 
not mitigate evils among us. In all its adaptations and apti- 
tudes it demands union and abhors separation. In fact, it 
would ere long force reunion, however much of blood and 
treasure the separation might have cost. 

Our strife pertains to ourselves — to the passing generations 



162 



of men ; and it can, without convulsion, be hushed forever with 
the passing of one generation. 

In this view, I recommend the adoption of the following 
resolution and articles amendatory to the Constitution of the 
United States : 

Besohed ly the Senate and House of Bepresentatwes of the 
United States of America in Congress assemUed (two-thirds of 
both Houses concurring), That the following articles be pro- 
posed to the Legislatures (or Conventions) of the several States, 
as amendments to the Constitution of the United States, all or 
any of which articles, when ratified by three-fourths of the said 
Legislatures (or Conventions), to be valid as part or parts of the 
said Constitution, viz : 

Article. — Every State, wherein Slavery now exists, which* 
shall abolish the same therein at any time or times before the 
first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand and 
nine hundred, shall receive compensation from the United 
States as follows, to wit : 

The President of the United States shall deliver to every such 
State bonds of the United States, bearing interest at the rate of 

per cent, per annum, to an amount equal to the aggregate 

sum of for each slave shown to have been therein by the 

eighth census of the United States, said bonds to be delivered 
to such State by installments, or in one parcel, at the comple- 
tion of the abolishment, accordingly as the same shall have 
been gradual, or at one time, within such State ; and interest 
shall begin to run upon any such bond only from the proper 
time of its delivery as aforesaid. Any State having received 
bonds as aforesaid, and afterwards reintroducing or tolerating 
slaveiy therein, shall refund to the United States the bonds 
BO received, or the value thereof, and all interest paid thereon. 

Article. — All slaves who shall have enjoyed actual freedom 
by the chances of the war, at any time before the end of the 
rebellion, shall be forever free ; but all OT\Tiers of such who shall 
not have been disloyal shall be compensated for them at the 
same rates as is provided for States adopting ^abolishment of 



THE martyr's monument. 163 

slavery, but in such way that no slave shall be twice accounted 
for. 

Article. — Congress may appropriate money, and othei-wise 
provide for colonizing free colored persons, with their own 
consent, at any place or places without the United States. 

I beg indulgence to discuss these proposed articles at some 
lengtt. Without slavery the rebellion could never have existed ; 
without slavery it could not continue. 

Among the friends of the Union there is great diversity of 
^sentiment and of policy in regard to slavery, and the African 
race amongst us. Some would perpetuate slavery ; some would 
abolish it suddenly, and without compensation ; some would 
abolish it gradually, and with compensation ; some would 
remove the freed people from us, and some would retain them 
with us : and there are yet other minor diversities. Because of 
these diversities we waste much strength among ourselves. By 
mutual concession we should harmonize and act together. This 
would be compromise ; but it would be compromise among the 
friends and not the enemies of the Union. These articles are 
intended to embody a j)lau of such mutual concessions. If the 
plan shall be adopted, it is assumed that emancipation will fol- 
low in at least several of the States. 

As LO the first article, the main points are : first, the emanci- 
pation , secondly, the length of time for consummating it — 
thirty-seven years ; and, thirdly, the compensation. 

The emancipation will be unsatisfactory to the advocates of 
perpetual slavery ; but the length of time should greatly miti- 
gate their dissatisfaction. The time spares both races from the 
evils of sudden derangement — in fact, from the necessity of any 
derangement ; while most of those whose habitual course of 
thought will be disturbed by the measure will have passed away 
before its consummation. They will never see it. Another 
class will hail the prospect of emancipation, but T\dll deprecate 
the length of time. They will feel that it gives too little to the 
now living slaves. But it really gives them much. It saves 
them from the vagrant destitution which must largely attend 
immediate emancipation in localities where their numbers ^are 



164 THE martyr's monument. 

very great ; and it gives the inspiring assurance that their pos- 
terity shall be free forever. The plan leaves to each State 
choosing to act under it, to abolish slavery now, or at the end 
of the century, or at any intermediate time, or by degrees, ex- 
tending over the whole or any part of the i^eriod ; and it obliges 
no two States to proceed alike. It also provides for compensa- 
tion, and generally the mode ot making it. This, it would 
seem, must further mitigate the dissatisfaction of those who 
favor perpetual slavery, and especially of those who are to re- 
ceive the compensation. Doubless some of those who are to 
pay and not receive will object. Yet the measure is both just 
and economical. In a certain sense the liberation of slaves is 
the destruction of property — property acquired by descent or 
by purchase, the same as any other property. It is no less true 
for having been often said, that the people of the South are not 
more responsible for the original introduction of this property 
than are the people of the North ; and when it is remembered 
how unhesitatingly we all use cotton and sugar, and share the 
profits of dealing in them, it may not be quite safe to say that 
the South has been more responsible than the North for its con- 
tinuance. If, then, for a common object this property is to be 
sacrificed, is it not just that it be done at a common charge ? 

And if with less money, or money more easily paid, we can 
preserve the benefits of the Union by this means than we can 
by the war alone, is it not also economical to do it ? Let us 
consider it, then. Let us ascertain the sum we have expended 
in the war since compensated emancipation was proposed last 
March, and consider whether, if that measure had been promptly 
accepted by even some of the Slave States, the same sum would 
not have done more to close the war than has been otherwise 
done. If so, the measure would save money, and, in that viev/, 
would be a prudent and economical measure. Certainly it is 
not so easy to pay something as it is to pay nothing ; but it is 
easier to pay a large sum than it is to pay a larger one. And 
it is easier to pay any sum v/hen we are able than it is to pay it 
before we are able. The war requires large sums, and requires 
them at once. The aggregate sum necessary for compensated 
emancipation of course would be large. But it would require 



THE martyr's monument. 165 

no ready cash, nor the bonds even, any faster than emancipa- 
tion progresses. This might not, and probably would not, 
close before the end of the thirty-seven years. At that time we 
shall probably have a hundred millions of people to share the 
burden, instead of thirty-one millions, as novr. And not only 
so, but the increase of our population may be expected to con- 
tinue for a long time after that period as rapidly as before ; be- 
cause our territory Avill not have become full. I do not state 
this inconsiderately. 

At the same ratio of increase which we have maintained, on 
an average, from our first national census, in 1790, until that of 
1860, we should, in 1900, have a population of 103,208,415. 
And why may we not continue that ratio — far beyond that 
period ? Our abundant room — our broad national homestead 
is our ample resource. Were our territory as limited as are the 
British Isles, very certainly our population could not expand as 
stated. Instead of receiving the foreign born as now, we should 
be compelled to send part of the native bom away. But such is 
not our condition. We have two millions nine hundred and sixty- 
three thousand square miles. Europe has three millions and 
eight hundred thousand, with a population averaging seventy- 
three and one-third persons to the square mile. Why may not 
our country at some time average as many ? Is it less fertile ? 
Has it more waste surface, by mountains, rivers, lakes, deserts 
or other causes ? Is it inferior to Europe in any natural advan- 
tage ? If then we are, at some time, to be as populous as Eu- 
rope, how soon ? As to when this may be, we can judge by the 
j)ast and the present ; as to when it will be, if ever, depends 
much on whether we maintain the Union. Several of our 
States are already above the average of Europe — seventy-three 
and a third to the square mile. Massachusetts 15/; Rhode 
Island 133 ; Connecticut 99 ; New York and New Jersey, each 
80. Also two other great States, Pennsylvania and Ohio, are 
not far below, the former having 63 and the latter 59. The 
States already above the European average, except New York, 
have increased in as rapid a ratio, since passing that point, as ever 
before ; while no one of them is equal to some other parts of our 
countiy in natural capacity for sustaining a dense population. 



166 



THE martyr's monument. 



Taking the nation in the aggregate, and we find its population 
and ratio of increase, for the several decennial periods, to be 
as follows : 



1799.... 3,939,827 

1800 5,305,937 35.02 per cent, ratio of increase. 

1810.... 7,239,814 36.45 " " 

1820.... 9,638,131 33.13 " " 

1830.... 12,866,020 33.49 " " 

1840.... 17,069,453 32.67 " " 

1850.... 23,191,876 35.87 " " 

I860.... 31,443,790 35.58 " " 



This shows an average decennial increase in 34.60 per cent, in 
population through the seventy years, from our first to our last 
census yet taken. It is seen that the ratio of increase, at r>o one 
of these two periods, is either two per cent, below or two per 
cent, above the average ; thus showing how inflexible, and con- 
sequently how reliable, the law of increase in our case is. A.S- 
suming that it will continue, it gives the following results • 

1870 42,323,341 

1880 56,966,216 

1890 76,677,872 

1900 103,208,415 

1910 138,918,526 

1920 186,984,335 

1930 251,680,914 

These figures show that our country may be as populous as 
Europe now is at some j)oint between 1920 and 1930 — say about 
1925 — our territory, at seventy-three and a third persons to the 
square mile, being of capacity to contain 217,186,000. 

And we will reach this, too, if we do not ourselves relinquish 
the chance, by the folly and evils of disunion, or by long and 
exhausting wars springing from the only great element of na- 
tional discord among us. While it cannot be foreseen exactly 
how much one huge example of secession, breeding lesser one? 



MONUMENT. 167 

indefinitely, would retard population, civilization, and prosper- 
ity, no one can doubt that the extent of it would be very great 
and injurious. 

The proposed emancipation would shorten the war, perpetu- 
ate peace, insure this increase of jDopulation, and proportion- 
ately the wealth of the country. With these we should pay all 
the emancipation would cost, together with our other debt, 
easier than we should pay our other debt without it. If we 
had allowed our old national debt to run at six per cent, per 
annum, simple interest, from the end of our Revolutionary 
struggle until to-day, without paying anything on either prmci- 
pal or interest, each man of us would owe less upon that debt 
now than each man owed upon it then ; and this because our 
increase of men, through the whole period, has been greater 
than six per cent. ; has run faster than the interest uj)on the 
debt. Thus, time alone relieves a debtor nation, so long as its 
population increases faster than unpaid interest accumulates on 
its debt. 

This fact would be no excuse for delaying payment of what 
is justly due ; but it shows the great imjDortance of time in this 
connection — the great advantage of a policy by which we shall 
not have to pay until we number a hrmdred millions, what, by 
a different policy, we would have to pay now, when we number 
but thirty-one millions. In a word, it shows that a dollar will 
be much harder to pay for the war than will be a dollar for 
the emancipation on the proposed plan. And then the latter 
will cost no blood, no precious life. It will be a saving of both. 

As to the second article, I think it would be impracticable to 
return to bondage the class of persons therein contemplated. 
Some of them, doubtless, in the property sense, belong to loyal 
owners ; and hence provision is made in this article for com- 
pensating such. 

The third article relates to the future of the freed people. 
It does not oblige, but merely authorizes Congress to aid in 
colonizing such as may consent. This ought not to be regarded 
as objectionable on the one hand or on the other, in so much as 
it comes to nothing unless by the mutual consent of the people 



168 THE martyr's monument. ' 

\ 
to be deported, and the American voters through their repre- ; 
sentatives in Congress. 

I can not make it better known than it already is that I < 
strongly favor colonization. And yet I wish to say there is 
an objection urged against free colored persons remaining intt! 
the country which is largely imaginary, if not sometimes mali- 
cious. 

It is insisted that their presence would injure and displace 
white labor and white laborers. If there ever could be a proper 
time for mere catch arguments, that time surely is not now. 
In times like the present men should utter nothing for which 
they would not willingly be responsible through time and in 
eternity. Is it true, then, that colored people can displace any 
more white labor by being free than by remaining slaves ? If they 
stay in their old places they jostle no white laborers ; if they 
leave their old places they leave them open to white laborers. 
Logically there is neither more nor less of it. Emancipation 
even without deportation, would probably enhance the wages 
of white labor, and, very surely, would not reduce them. Thus 
the customary amount of labor would still have to be performed 
— the freed people would surely not do more than their old 
proportion of it, and very probably for a time would do less, 
leaving an increased part to white laborers, bringing their 
labor into greater demand, and consequently enhancing the 
wages of it. With deportation, even to a limited extent, 
enhanced wages to white labor is mathematically certain. Labor 
is like any other commodity in the market — increase the demand 
for it and you increase the price of it. Reduce the supply of 
black labor, by colonizing the black laborer out of the country, 
and by precisely so much you increase the demand for and 
wages of white labor. 

But it is dreaded that the freed people will swarm forth and 
cover the whole land ! Are they not already in the land ? Will 
liberation make them any more numerous ? Equally distributed 
among the whites of the whole country, there would be but 
one colored to seven whites. Could the one, in any way, greatly 
disturb the seven ? There are many communities now having 
more than one free colored person to seven whites ; and this, 



169 



without any apparent consciousness of evil from it. The Dis- 
trict of Columbia and the States of Maryland and Delaware 
are all in this condition. The District has more than one free 
colored to six whites ; and yet, in its frequent petitions to Con- 
gress, I believe it has never presented the presence of free col- 
ored persons as one of its grievances. But why should eman- 
cipation South send the freed people North ? People of any 
color seldom run unless there be something to run from. Here- 
tofore colored people, to some extent, have fled North from 
bondage; and now, perhaps, from bondage and destitution* 
But if gradual emancipation and deportation be adopted they 
will have neither to flee from. Their old masters will give 
them wages, at least until new laborers can be procured, and the 
freed men in turn will gladly give their labor for the wages till 
new homes can be found for them in congenial climes, and with 
people of their own blood and race. This proposition can be 
trusted on the mutual interests involved, xind in any event, 
can not the North decide for itself whether to receive them ? 

Again, as practice proves more than theory, in any case, has 
there been any irruption of colored people northward because 
of the abolishment of slavery in this District last spring ? 

What I have said of the proportion of free colored persons 
to the whites in the District is from the census of 1860, having 
no reference to persons called contrabands, nor to those made 
free by the act of Congress, abolishing slavery here. 

The plan consisting of these articles is recommended, not but 
that a restoration of national authority would be accepted with- 
out its adoption. 

Nor -wall the war, nor proceedings under the proclamation of 
September 23, 1862, be stayed because of the recommendation 
of this plan. Its timely adoption, I doubt not, would bring 
restoration, and thereby stay both. 

And, notwithstanding this plan, the recommendation that 
Congress provide by law for compensating any State which 
may adopt emancipation before this plan shall have been acted 
upon, is hereby earnestly renewed. Such would be only 
an advanced part of the plan^ and the same arguments apply 
to both. 



170 THE MARTYRS MONUMENT. 

This plan is recommended as a means not in exclusion of, 
but additional to, all others for restoring and preserving the 
national authority throughout the Union. The subject is 
presented exclusively in its economical aspect. The plan 
would, I am confident, secure peace more speedily, and main- 
tain it more permanently, than can be done by force alone ; 
while all it would cost, considering amounts, and manner of 
payment, and times of payment, would be easier paid than 
will be the additional cost of the war, if we solely rely upon 
force. It is much — very much — that it would cost no blood 
at all. 

The plan is proposed as permanent constitutional law. It 
can not become such, without the concurrence of, first, two- 
thirds of Congress, and afterward three-fourths of the States. 
The requisite three-fourths of the States will necessarily include 
seven of the Slave States, Their concurrence, if obtained, will 
give assurance of their severally adopting emancipation, at no 
very distant day, upon the new constitutional terms. This 
assurance would end the struggle now, and save the Union 
forever. 

I do not forget the gravity which should characterize a paper 
addressed to the Congress of the nation by the Chief Magis- 
trate of the nation. Nor do I forget that some of you are my 
seniors ; nor that many of you have more experience than I in 
the conduct of public afiairs. Yet I trust that, in view of the 
great responsibility resting upon me, you will perceive no want 
of respect to yourselves in any undue earnestness I may seem 
to display. 

Is it doubted, then, that the plan I propose, if adopted, would 
shorten the war, and thus lessen its expenditure of money and 
of blood? Is it doubted that it would restore the national 
authority and national prosperity, and perpetuate both indefi- 
nitely ? Is it doubted that we here — Congress and Executive — 
can secure its adoption ? Will not the good people respond to 
a united and earnest appeal from us ? Can we, can they, by 
any other means, so certainly or so speedily assure these vital 
objects? We can succeed only by concert. It is not "can 
any of us imagine better?" but "can we all do better?" 



THE martyr's monument. 171 

Object whatsoever is possible, still the question recurs, " can we 
do better ?" The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to 
the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, 
and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we 
must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, 
and then we shall save our country. 

Fellow-citizens, we cannot escape history. We of this Con- 
gress and this Administration will be remembered in spite of 
ourselves. No personal significance or insignificance can spare 
one or another of us. The fiery trial through which we j)ass 
will light us down in honor or dishonor to the latest generation. 
We say that we are for the Union. The world will not forget that 
we say this. We know how to save the Union. The world 
knows we do know how to save it. We — even we here — hold 
the power and bear the responsibility. In giving freedom to 
the slave we assure freedom to the free — honorable alike in what 
we give and what we preserve. We shall nobly save or meanly 
lose the last best hope of earth. Other means may succeed, 
this could not, cannot fail. The way is plain, peaceful, gener- 
ous, just — a way, which, if followed, the world will forever ap- 
plaud and God must forever bless. Abraham Lincoln. 

I>ecember 1, 1862. 

TO FERNANDO WOOD ON THE WAR. 

Prominent among the apostles of Peace and the advo- 
cates of a cessation of the war upon the rebels by the 
Government, was Mr. Fernando Wood, formerly Major 
of New York. To one of his letters, urging his views on 
that subject, the President made the following conclusive 
reply. History, to which Mr. Lincoln was willing to 
leave his treatment of this question, has already justified it : 

Executive Mansion, Washengton, December 12, 1862. 

Hon. Fernando Wood — My Dear Sir — Your letter of the 8th, 
with the accompanying note of same date, was received yester- 
day. 

The most important paragraph in the letter, as I consider, is 



172 



in these words : " On the 25th of November last I was advised 
by an authority which I deemed likely to be well informed, as 
well as reliable and truthful, that the Southern States would 
send representatives to the next Congress, provided that a full 
and general amnesty should permit them to do so. No guaran- 
tee or terms were asked for other than.the amnesty referred to." 

I strongly suspect your information will prove to be ground- 
less ; nevertheless, T thank you for communicating it to me. 
Understanding the phrase in the paragraph above quoted — " the 
Southern States would send representatives to the next Con- 
gress" — to be substantially the same as that " the people of the 
Southern States would cease resistance, and would reinaugurate, 
submit to, and maintain the national authority within the limits 
of such States, under the Constitution of the United States," I 
say that in such case the war would cease on the part of the 
United States ; and that if within a reasonable time " a full and 
general amnesty" were necessary to such end, it would not be 
withheld. 

I do not think it would be jaroper now to communicate this, 
formally, or informally, to the i^eople of the Southern States. 
My belief is that they already know it ; and when they choose, it 
ever, they can communicate with me unequivocally. Nor do I 
think it proper now to suspend military oi3erations to try any 
experiment of negotiation. 

I should nevertheless receive, with great pleasure, the exact 
information you now have, and also such other as you may in 
any way obtain. Such information might be more valuable be- 
fore the 1st of January than afterward. 

While there is nothing in this letter which I shall dread to 
see in history, it is, perhaps, better for the present that its 
existence should not become public. I therefore have to request 
that you will regard it as confidential. 

Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln. 

MESSAGE ON THE FINANCES. 

One of the most important measures of this session 
of Congress was the passage of an act authorizing the 



THE martyr's monument. 173 

issue of $100,000,000, in Treasury notes, the main pur- 
pose of which was the payment of tlie army and navy. 
President Lincoln promptly affixed his signature to the 
bill; but he returned it accompanied by the following 
message, in which he set forth views of the financial con- 
dition of the country, the wisdom of which after-expe- 
rience fully sustained : 

MESSAGE. 

To the Senate and House of Representatixes : 

I have signed the joint resolution to provide for the imme- 
diate payment of the army and navy of the United States, passed 
by the House of Representatives on the 14th, and by the Senate 
on the loth inst. The joint resolution is a simple authority, 
amounting, however, under the existing circumstances, to a di- 
rection to the Secretarj^ of the Treasuiy to make an additional 
issue of $100,000,000 in United States notes, if so much money 
is needed, for the payment of the army and navy. My approval 
is given in order that every possible facility may be afforded for 
the prompt discharge of all arrears of pay due to our soldiers and 
our sailors. 

While giving this approval, however, I think it my duty to 
express my sincere regret that it has been found necessary to 
authorize so large an additional issue of United States notes, 
w^hen this circulation, and that of the suspended banks together, 
have become already so redundant as to increase prices beyond 
real values, thereby augmenting the cost of li\T.ng, to the iujury 
of labor, and the cost of supplies, to the injury of the whole 
country. It seems very plain that continued issues of United 
States notes, without any check to the issues of suspended 
banks, and without adequate provision for the raising of money 
by loans, and for funding the issues, so as to keep them within 
due limits, must soon produce disastrous consequences; and 
this matter api^ears to me so important that I feel bound to 
avail myself of this occasion to ask the special attention of 
Congress to it. 



174 



That Congress has power to regulate the currency of the 
country can hardly admit of doubt, and that a judicious meas- 
ure to prevent the deterioration of this currency, by a reason- 
able taxation of bank circulation, or otherwise, is needed, seems 
equally clear. Independently of this general consideration, it 
would be unjust to the people at large to exempt banks enjoy- 
ing the special privilege of circulation, from their just propor- 
tion of the public burdens. 

In order to raise money by way of loans most easily and 
cheaply, it is clearly necessary to give every possible support to 
the public credit. To that end, a uniform currency, in which 
taxes, subscriptions, loans, and all other ordinary j)ublic dues 
may be paid, is almost if not quite indispensable. Such a cur- 
rency can be furnished by banking associations ' authorized un- 
der a general act of Congress, as suggested in my message at the 
beginning of the present session. The securing of this circula- 
tion by the pledge of the United States bonds, as herein sug- 
gested, would still further facilitate loans, by increasing the 
present and causing a future demand for such bonds. 

In view of the actual financial embarrassments of the Govern- 
ment, and of the greater embarrassment sure to come if the 
necessary means of relief be not afforded, I feel that I should 
not perform my duty by a simple announcement of my aj^proval 
of the joint resolution, which proposes relief only by increasing 
the circulation, without expressing my earnest desire that meas- 
ures, such in substance as that I have just referred to, may re- 
ceive the early sanction of Congress. By such measures, in my 
opinion, will payment be most certainly secured, not only to the 
army and navy, but to all honest creditors of the Government, 
and satisfactory provisions made for future demands on the 
Treasury. Abraham Lincoln. 

PROCLAMATION OF EMANCIPATION. 

The first day of the year 1863 was signalized by the 
issuing of a Proclamation of Emancipation according to the 
President's promise in his preliminary proclamation. It 



THE martyr's monument. 175 

not onlj declared the persons mentioned in it free, but 
announced that they would be received into the service 
of the Government. 

proclamation. 

Wliereas, on the 22d day of September, in the year of our 
Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, a proclama- 
tion was issued by the President of the United States, contain- 
ing, among other things, the following, to wit : 

That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one 
thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as 
slaves within any States or designated part of a State, the peo- 
ple whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, 
shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free ; and the Execu- 
tive Government of the United States, including the military 
and naval authority thereof, T\dll recognize and maintain the 
freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress 
such persons, or any of them, in any elforts they may make for 
their actual freedom. 

That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, 
by proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, 
in which the people thereof respectively shall then be in rebel- 
lion against the United States ; and the fact that any State, or 
the people thereof shall on that day be in good faith represented 
in the Congress of the United States, by members chosen thereto 
at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such 
State shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong 
countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that 
such State, and the people thereof, are not then in rebellion 
against the United States. 

Now, therefore, I Abraham Lhtcoln, President of the United 
States, by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-in- 
Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States in time of 
actual armed rebellion against the authority and Government 
of the United States, and as a fit and necessary war measure for 
suppressing said rebellion, do, on this fij-st day of January, in 
the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty- 



176 THE martyr's monument. 

three, and in accordance witli my purpose so to do, publicly 
proclaimed for the full period of one hundred days, from the 
day fii*st above mentioned, order and designate, as the States 
and parts of States wherein the people thereof respectively are 
this day in rebellion against the United States, the following, 
to wit : 

Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana (except the parishes of St. Ber- 
nard, Plaquemines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James, 
Ascension, Assumption, Terre Bonne, Lafourche, St. Marie, St. 
Martin and Orleans, including the city of New Orleans), Missis- 
sippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Caro- 
lina, and Virginia (except the forty-eight counties designated as 
West Virginia^ and also the counties of Berkely, Accomac, 
Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Anne, and Nor- 
folk, including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth), and 
which excepted parts are for the present left precisely as if this 
proclamation were not issued. 

And by virtue of the power and for the purpose aforesaid, I 
do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said 
designated States and parts of States are and henceforward shall 
be free; and that the Executive Government of the United 
States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will 
recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons. 

And I hereby enjoin upon the x^eople so declared to be free to 
abstain from all violence, unless in necessary self-defence ; and 
I recommend to them that, in all cases when allowed, they labor 
faithfully for reasonable wages. 

And I further declare and make known that such persons, of 
suitable condition, will be received into the armed service of 
the United States to garrison forts, positions, stations, and other 
places, and to man vessels of all sorts in said service. 

And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice 
warranted by the Constitution upon military necessity, I invoke 
the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor 
of Almighty God. 

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my name, and 
caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. 



THE martyr's monument. 177 

Done at the city of Washington, this first day of January, in the 

year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty- 

[l. s.] three, and of the independence of the United States the 

eighty- seventh. Abraham Lincoln. 

By the President : 

Wm. H. Skward, Secretary of State. 

letters to BRITISH WORKINGMEN. 

The workingmen in some of the large cities of Great 
Britain showed themselves almost from the beginning of 
the rebellion friendly to the cause of the Republic, al- 
though they suffered from the consequences of the war. 
In two of these cities — Manchester and London — at large 
meetings they adopted addresses which were sent to Mr. 
Lincoln, and to these he made the following replies : 

Executive Mansion, Washington, Jan. 19, 1863. 

To the Workingmen of Manchester : — I have the honor to ac- 
knowledge the receipt of the address and resolutions which 
you sent me on the eve of the new year. When I came on the 
4th of March, 1861, through a free and constitutional election, 
to preside in the Government of the United States, the country 
was found at the verge of civil war. Whatever might have 
been the cause, or whosesoever the fault, one duty, paramount 
to all others, was before me, namely, to maintain and preserve 
at once the Constitution and the integrity of the Federal 
Republic. A conscientious purpose to perform this duty, is 
the key to all the measures of administration which have been, 
and to all which will hereafter be pursued. Under our frame 
of government and my oflBcial oath, I could not depart from 
this purpose if I would. It is not always in the power of gov- 
ernments to enlarge or restrict the scope of moral results which 
follow the policies that they may deem it necessary, for the 
public safety, from time to time to adopt. 

I have understood well that the duty of self-preservation rests 
solely with the American people. But I have at the same time 



178 THE martyr's monument. 

« 

been aware that favor or disfavor of foreign nations might have 
a material influence in enlarging or prolonging the struggle 
vdth disloyal men in which the country is engaged. A fair 
examination of history has served to authorize a belief that the 
past actions and influences of the United States, were generally 
regarded as having been beneficial toward mankind. I have, 
therefore, reckoned upon the forbearance of nations. Circum- 
stances — to some of which you kindly allude — induced me 
especially to expect that if justice and good faith should be 
practised by the United States, they would encounter no hostile 
influence on the part of Great Britain. It is now a pleasant 
duty to acknowledge the demonstration you have given of your 
desire that a spirit of amity and peace toward this country may 
prevail in the councils of your Queen, who is respected and 
esteemed in your own country only more than she is by the 
kindred nation which has its home on this side of the Atlantic. 
I know, and deeply deplore the sufierings which the working- 
men at Manchester, and in all Europe, are called to endure in 
this crisis. It has been often and studiously represented that 
the attempt to overthrow this Government, which was built 
upon the foundation cff human rights, and to substitute for it 
one which should rest exclusively on the basis of human slavery, 
was likely to obtain the favor of Europe. Tlirough the action 
of our disloyal citizens, the workingracn of Europe have been 
subjected to severe trials, for the purjDose of forcing their sanc- 
tion to that attempt. Under the circumstances, I cannot but 
regard your decisive utterances upon the question as an instance 
of sublime Christian heroism, which has not been surpassed in 
any age or in any country. It is indeed an energetic and 
reinspiring assurance of the inherent power of truth, and of the 
ultimate and universal triumph of justice, humanity, and free- 
dom. I do not doubt that the sentiments you have expressed 
will be sustained by your great nation, and on the other hand, 
I have no hesitation in assuring you that they will excite admira- 
tion, esteem, and the most reciprocal feelings of friendship 
among the American people. I hail this interchange of senti- 
ment, therefore, as an augury that whatever else may happen, 
whatever misfortune may befall your country or my own, the 



THE martyr's monument. 179 

peace and friendship which now exist between the two nations 
will be, as it shall be my desire to make them, perpetual. 

AbRAHA3I LrNCOLN. 

ExECTTTivE Mansion, "Washixgton, Feb. 2, 1863. 

To the WorMngmen of London : — I have received the New 
Year's Address which you have sent me, with a sincere appre- 
ciation of the exalted and humane sentiments by which it was 
inspired. 

As these sentiments are manifestly the enduring support of 
the free institutions of England, so I am sure also that they 
constitute the only reliable basis for free institutions through- 
out the world. 

The resources, advantages, and powers of the American peo- 
ple are very great, and they have consequently succeeded to 
equally great responsibilities. It seems to have devolved upon 
them to test whether a government established on the princi- 
ples of human freedom, can be maintained against an effort to 
build one upon the exclusive foundation of human bondage. 
They will rejoice with me in the new evidences which your 
proceedings furnish, that the magnanimity they are exhibiting 
is justly estimated by the true friends of freedom and humanity 
in foreign countries. 

Accept my best wishes for your individual welfare, and for 
the welfare and haj)piness of the whole British people. 

Abraham Lincoln. 

THE CHRISTIAN COMMISSION 

received from the President the following characteristic 
approval of its benevolent organization : 

Executive Mansion, Washington, February 22, 1S63. 

Re'o. Alexander Reed — My Bear Sir — Your note, by which you, 
as General Superintendent of the U. S. Christian Commission, 
invite me to preside at a meeting to be held this day, at the hall 
of the House of Representatives in this city, is received. 

While, for reasons which I deem sufficient, I must decline to 



180 THE martyr's monument. 

preside, I cannot withliold my approval of the meeting, and its 
worthy objects. Whatever shall be, sincerely and in God's 
name, devised for the good of the soldiers and seamen in their 
hard spheres of duty, can scarcely fail to be blessed. A.nd what- 
ever shall tend to turn our thoughts from the unreasoning and 
uncharitable passions, prejudices, and jealousies incident to a 
great national trouble such as ours, and to fix them on the vast 
and long-enduring consequences, for weal or for woe, which are 
to result from the struggle, and especially to strengthen our reli- 
ance on the Supreme Being for the final triumph of the right, 
cannot but be well for us all. 

The birthday of Washington and the Christian Sabbath coin- 
ciding this year, and suggesting together the highest interests 
of this life and of that to come, is most proioitious for the 
meeting proposed. 

Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln. 



HALF-MADE CITIZENS OF FOREIGN BIRTH. 

The endeavor of many aliens who wished to obtain the 
advantage of citizenship of the Republic without in- 
curring its responsibilities, were met by Mr. Lincoln in 
the following 

PROCLAMATION. 

Washington, May 8, 1863. 

By the President of the United States of America, a Prodamon 
tion — Whereas, The Congress of the United States, at its last 
session, enacted a law, entitled "An act for enrolling and calling 
out the national forces, and for other purposes," which was ap- 
proved on the 3d day of March last ; and 

Whereas, It is recited in the said act that there now exists in 
the United States an insurrection and rebellion against the au- 
thority thereof, and it is, under the Constitution of the United 
States, the duty of the Government to suppress insubordination 
and rebellion, to guarantee to each State a republican form of 
government, and to preserve the public tranquillity ; and 



THE martyr's monument. 181 

WJiereas, For these liigli jDurposes, a military force is indis- 
pensable, to raise and support which all persons ought willingly 
to contribute ; and 

Whereas^ No service can be more praiseworthy and honorable 
than that which is rendered for the maintenance of the Consti- 
tution and the Union, and the consequent preservation of free 
government; and 

Whereas^ For the reasons thus recited it was enacted by the 
said statute that all able-bodied male citizens of the United 
States, and persons of foreign birth who shall have declared 
on oath their intentions to become citizens under and in pursu- 
ance of the laws thereof, between the ages of twenty and forty- 
five years, with certain exemptions not necessary to be here 
mentioned, are declared to constitute the national forces, and 
shall be liable to perform military duty in the scvice of the 
United States, when called out by the President foi* that pur- 
pose ; and 

Whereas, It is claimed, on and in behalf of persons r>f foreign 
birth, within the ages specified in said act, who have heretofore 
declared on oath their intention to become citizens under and 
in pursuance to the laws of the United States, and who have 
not exercised the right of suflfrage or any other political fran- 
chise under the laws of the United States, or of any of the States 
thereof, that they are not absolutely precluded by their afore- 
said declaration of intention from renouncing their purpose to 
become citizens ; and that, on the contrary, such persons, under 
treaties and the law of nations, retain a right to renounce that 
purpose, and to forego the privilege of citizenship and residence 
within the United States, under the obligations imposed by the 
aforesaid act of Congress: 

Now, therefore, to avoid all misapprehensions concerning the 
liability of persons concerned to perform the service required by 
such enactment, and to give it full effect, I do hereby order and 
proclaim that no plea of alienage will be received, or allowed 
to exempt from the obligations imposed by the aforesaid act of 
Congress any person of foreign birth who shall have declared 
on oath his intention to become a citizen of the United States 
under the laws thereof, and who shall be found within the Uni 



182 THE martyr's monument. 

ted States at any time duiing the continuance of tlie present 
insurrection and rebellion, at or after the expiration of the pe- 
riod of sixty-five days from the date of this proclamation ; nor 
shall any such plea of alienage be allowed in favor of any such 
person who has so, as aforesaid, declared his intention to be- 
come a citizen of the United States, and shall have exercised at 
any time the right of suffrage, or any other political franchise 
within the United States, under the laws thereof, or under the 
laws of any of the several States. 

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused 
the seal of the United States to be affixed. 

Done at the city of Washington this 8th day of May, in the 
[l. s.] year of our Lord 1863, and of the independence of 
the United States the eighty-seventh. 
By the President : Abraham Lincoln. 

Wm. H. Seward, Secretary of State. 

THE UNCONDITIONAL EMANCIPATIONISTS IN MISSOURI. 

In Missouri there was a division of opinion among the 
loyal men upon the subject of slavery. One party was for 
doing it away instantly and completely, and without regard 
to consequences ; the other for gradual emancipation. Gen. 
Curtia, in command of that district, was of the former 
party ; and Governor Gamble, being of the latter, would 
not turn over the militia of the State to General Curtis. 
This state of things produced a disgraceful feud, which 
disgusted the country and worried the President for a 
long time. He finally, in May of this year, removed 
General Curtis, and to a remonstrance thereupon, sent 
the following reply, which showed how he could "put 
down his foot" when occasion required: 

Your dispatch of to-day is just received. It is very painful 
to me that you, in Missouri, cannot, or will not, settle your fac- 
tional quarrel among yourselves. I have been tormented with 



THE martyr's monument. 183 

it beyond endurance, for months, by both sides. Neither side 
pays the least respect to my appeals to your reason. I am now 
compelled to take hold of the case. A. Lincoln. 

General Curtis was superseded by General Schofield, 
to whom Mr. Lincoln addressed the following letter : 

Executive Mansion, Washington, May 27, 1863. 
General J. M. Schofield — Dear Sir — Having removed General 
Curtis and assigned you to the command of the Dei)aii;ment of 
the Missouri, I think it may be of some advantage to me to state 
to you why I did it. I did not remove General Curtis because 
of my full conviction that he had done wrong by commission or 
omission. I did it because of a conviction in my mind that the 
Union men of Missouri, constituting, when united, a vast ma- 
jority of the people, have entered into a pestilent, factious 
quarrel, among themselves. General Curtis, perhaps not of 
choice, being the head of one faction, and Governor Gamble that 
of the other. After months of labor to reconcile the difficulty, it 
seemed to grow worse and worse, until I felt it my duty to break 
it up somehow, and as I could not remove Governor Gamble I had 
to remove General Curtis. Now that you are in the position, I 
wish you to undo nothing merely because General Curtis or 
Governor Gamble did it, but to exercise your own judgment, 
and do right for the public interest. Let your military measures 
be strong enough to rejiel the invaders and keep the peace, and 
not so strong as to unnecessarily harass and persecute the peo- 
ple. It is a difficult role, and so much greater will be the honor 
if you perform it well. If both factions or neither shall abuse 
you, you will probably be about right. Beware of being assailed 
by one and praised by the other. 

Yours truly, A. Lincolk". 

At this action the Germans of St. Louis thought proper 
to take umbrage ; and they also thought it proper to de- 
pute one of their number to wait upon the President 
with their remonstrances, not only against his course in 
this matter, but in many others, demanding, among other 



184 THE martyr's monument. 

things, some changes in the Cabinet and the removal of 
General Halleck from his position of commander-in-chief. 
What sort of reception these foreign gentlemen met with 
from Mr. Lincoln, is very vividly set forth in the follow- 
ing report of the interview of the President with their 
deputy, made by himself: 

Messrs. Emile Pretorious, Theodore Olshausen, B. E. Bornbaur^ 
etc. — GentUmen — During a professional visit to Washington city, 
I presented to the President of the United States, in compliance 
with your instructions, a copy of the resolutions adopted in 
mass meeting at St. Louis, on the 10th of May, 1863, and I re- 
quested a reply to the suggestions therein contained. The 
President, after a careful and loud reading of the whole report 
of proceedings, saw proper to enter into a conversation of two 
hours' duration, in the course of which most of the topics em- 
braced in the resolutions and other subjects were discussed. 

As my share in the conversation is of secondary importance, 
I propose to omit it entirely in this report, and, avoiding details, 
to communicate to you the substance of noteworthy remarks 
made by the President. 

1. The President said that it may be a misfortune for the 
nation that he was elected President. But, having been elected 
by the people, he meant to be President, and perform his duty 
according to Ms best understanding, if he had to die for it. No 
General will be removed, nor will any change in the Cabinet be 
made, to suit the views or wishes of any particular party, faction, 
or set of men. General Halleck is not guilty of the charges 
made against him, most of which arise from misapprehension or 
ignorance of those who prefer them. 

2. The President said that it was a mistake to suppose that 
Generals John C. Fremont, B. F. Butler, and F. Sigel are " sys- 
tematically kept out of command," as stated in the fourth reso- 
lution ; that, on the contrary, he fully appreciated the merits of 
the gentlemen named; that by their own actions they had 
placed themselves in the positions which they occupied ; that 
he was not only willing, but anxious to place them again in com- 



THE martyr's monument. 185 

mand as soon as he could find spheres of action for them, -with- 
out doing injustice to others, but that at present he " had more 
pegs than holes to put them in." 

3. As to the want of unity, the President, without admitting 
such to be the case, intimated that each member of the Cabinet 
was responsible mainly for the manner of conducting the affairs 
of his particular department ; that there was no centralization 
of responsibility for the action of the Cabinet anywhere, except 
in the President himself. 

4. The dissensions between Union men in Missouri are due 
solely to a factious spirit which is exceedingly reprehensible. 
The two parties " ought to have their heads knocked together." 
" Either would rather see the defeat of their adversary than 
that of Jefferson Davis." To this spirit of faction is to be as- 
cribed the failure of the Legislature to elect Senators and the 
defeat of the Missouri Aid Bill in Congress, the passage of 
which the President strongly desired. 

The President said that the Union men in Missouri who are 
in favor of gradual emancipation represented his views better 
than those who are in favor of immediate erruindpatioji. In 
explanation of his views on this subject, the President said that 
in his si3eeches he had frequently used as an illustration the 
case of a man who had an excrescence on the back of his neck, 
the removal of which, in one ojjeration, would result in the death 
of the patient, while " tinkering it off by degrees" would pre- 
serve life. Although sorely tempted, I did not reply with the 
illustration of the dog whose tail was amputated by inches, but 
confined myself to arguments. The President announced clearly 
that^ as far as Tie was at present advised, the Radicals in Missouri 
had no right to consider themselves the exponents of his mews on the 
8vl}ject of eynancipation in that State. 

5. General Curtis was not relieved on account of any wrong 
act or great mistake committed by him. The System of Pro- 
vost-Marshals, established by him throughout the State, gave 
rise to violent complaint. That the President had thought at 
one time to appoint General Fremont in his place; that at 
another time he thought of appointing General McDowell, 
whom he characterised as a good and loyal though very unfor- 



186 THE martyr's monument. 

tunate soldier ; and that, at last, General Schofield was appointed, 
with a view, if possible, to reconcile and satisfy the two factions 
in Missouri. He has instructions not to interfere with either 
party, but to confine himself to his military duties. I assure 
you, gentlemen, that our side was as fully presented as the occa- 
sion permitted. At the close of the conversation, the President 
remarked that there was evidently a " serious misunderstand- 
ing" springing up between him and the Germans of St. Louis, 
which he would like to see removed. Observing to him that 
the difference of opinion related to facts, men^ and measures j 1 
withdrew. I am, very respectfully, etc., 

James Taussig. 

THE VALLANDIGHAM CASE. 

Among the most active supporters that the rebellion 
found in the Free States, was the Hon. C. C. Vallandigham, 
Member of the House from Ohio, who opposed all meas- 
ures for the prosecution of the war, denounced Mr. 
Lincoln's Government as endeavorinor to establish a des- 
potism, and advocated the calling in of a foreign govern- 
ment to settle the dispute between the rebels and the 
National Government. Finally -it was at a public meet- 
ing at Mount Vernon, Ohio — he proclaimed his intention 
of disobeying an order issued by General Burnside, in 
command of the Department, and called upon the people 
to set it at naught and resist its execution. For this he 
was arrested by General Burnside, and, after vain appli- 
cations to the Circuit Court for a writ of habeas corpus^ 
tried by a military commission, found guilty, and sen- 
tenced to close confinement in Fort Warren. This sen- 
tence the President commuted to banishment within the 
rebel lines, which was immediately carried into effect. 

These occurrences were seized upon by the sympathis- 



THE martyr's monument, 187 

ers with the rebels, who held meetings at various places 
over the country to denounce w^hat one of the most dis- 
tinguished of their number, Governor Seymour, of New 
York, called the establishment of military despotism. 
These words he used in a letter addressed to the oro:aniz- 
ers of one of the meetings in question, which was held in 
Albany, on the 16th of May. The resolutions of this 
meeting were transmitted to the President by Mr. Eras- 
tus Corning, the chairman, to whom Mr. Lincoln sent 
the following reply : 

Executive Mansion, Washington, June 13, 1S63. 

Hon. Erastus CoRNiNa and others : 

Gentlemen — Your letter of May 19, inclosiiig the resolutions 
of a jDublic meeting held at Albany, N. Y., on the 16th of the 
same month, was received several days ago. 

The resolutions, as I understand them, are resolvable into two 
propositions — first, the expression of a purpose to sustain the 
cause of the Union, to secure peace through victory, and to 
support the Administration in every constitutional and lawful 
measure to suppress the rebellion ; and, secondly, a declaration 
of censure upon the Administration for supposed unconstitu- 
tional action, such as the making of militaiy arrests. And 
from the two propositions a third is deduced, which is, that the 
gentlemen composing the meeting are resolved on doing their 
part to maintain our common Government and country, despite 
the folly or wickedness, as they may conceive, of any Adminis- 
tration, This position is eminently patriotic, and as such I 
thank the meeting and congratulate the nation for it. My 
own purpose is the same, so that the meeting and myself have 
a common object, and can have no difference, except in the 
choice of means or measures for effecting that object. 

And here I ought to close this paper, and would close it, if 
there were no apprehensions that more injurious consequences 
than any merely personal to myself might follow the censures 
systematically cast upon me for doing what, in my view of duty, 



188 THE 

I could not forbear. The resolutions promise to support me 
in everj^ constitutional and lawful measure to suppress the 
rebellion, and I have not knowingly employed, nor shall know- 
ingly employ, any other. But the meeting, by their resolutions, 
assert and argue that certain military arrests, and proceedings 
following them, for which I am ultimately responsible, are 
unconstitutional. I think they are not. The resolutions quote 
from the Constitution the definition of treason, and also the 
limiting safeguards and guarantees therein provided for the 
citizen on trial for treason, and on his being held to answer for 
capital or otherwise infamous crime, and, in criminal prosecu- 
tions, his right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury. 
They proceed to resolve, " that these safeguards of the rights of 
the citizen against the pretensions of arbitrary power were 
Intended more espcGially for his protection in times of civil 
commotion." 

And, apparently to demonstrate the proposition, the resolu- 
tions proceed : " They were secured substantially to the English 
peoi)le after years of protracted civil war, and were adopted 
into our Constitution at the dose of the Revolution." Would 
not the demonstration have been better if it could have been 
truly said that these safeguards had been adopted and applied 
during the civil wars and during our Revolution, instead of after 
the one and at the close of the other ? I, too, am devotedly for 
them after civil war, and lefore civil war, and at all times, " ex- 
cept when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety 
may require" their suspension. The resolutions proceed to tell 
us that these safeguards " have stood the test of seventy-six 
years of trial, under our republican system, under circumstances 
which show that, while they constitute the foundation of all 
free government, they are the elements of the enduring sta- 
bility of the Republic." No one denies that they have so 
stood the test up to the beginning of the present rebellion, if 
we except a certain occurrence at New Orleans ; nor does any 
one question that they will stand the same test much longer 
after the rebellion closes. But these provisions of the Consti- 
tution have no apjilication to the case we have in hand, because 
the arrests complained of were not made for treason — that is, 



THE martyr's monument. 189 

not for the treason defined in the Constitution, and upon con- 
viction of "which the punishment is death — ^nor yet were they 
made to hold persons to answer for any capital or otherwise in- 
famous crimes ; nor were the proceedings following, in any con- 
stitutional or legal sense, " criminal prosecutions." The arrests 
were made on totally diflferent grounds, and the proceedings 
following accorded with the grounds of the arrest. Let us con- 
sider the real case with which we are dealing, and apply to it 
the parts of the Constitution plainly made for such cases. 

Prior to my installation here, it had been inculcated that any 
State had a lawful right to secede from the national Union, and 
that it would be expedient to exercise the right whenever the 
devotees of the doctrine should fail to elect a President to their 
own liking. I was elected contrary to their liking, and accord- 
ingly, so far as it was legally possible, they had taken seven 
States out of the Union, had seized many of the United States 
forts, and fired upon the United States flag, all before I was in- 
augurated, and, of course, before I had done any official act 
whatever. The rebellion thus began soon ran into the present 
civil war ; and, in certain respects, it began on very unequal 
terms between the parties. The insurgents had been preparing 
for it for more than thii-ty years, while the Government had 
taken no steps to resist them. The former had carefully con- 
sidered all the means which could be turned to their account. 
It undoubtedly was a well-pondered reliance with them that, in 
their own unrestricted efibrts to destroy Union, Constitution, 
and law altogether, the Government would, in great degree, be 
restrained by the same Constitution and law from arresting their 
progress. Their sympathizers pervaded all departments of the 
Government, and nearly all communities of the people. From 
this material, under cover of "liberty of speech," "liberty of 
the press," and " habeas corpus," they hoped to keep on foot 
among us a most efl3.cient corps of spies, informers, suppliers, 
and aiders and abettors of their cause in a thousand ways. 
They knew that in times such as they were inaugurating, by 
the Constitution itself, the " habeas corpus" might be suspended; 
but they also knew they had friends who would make a ques- 
tion as to who was to suspend it ; meanwhile, their spies and 



190 THE martyr's monument. 

others might remain at large to help on their cause. Or if, as 
has happened, the Executive should suspend the writ, without 
ruinous waste of time, instances of arresting innocent persons 
might occur, as are always likely to occur in such cases, and 
then a clamor could be raised in regard to this which might be, 
at least, of some service to the insurgent cause. It needed no 
very keen perception to discover this part of the enemy's pro- 
gramme, so soon as, by open hostilities, their machinery was 
put fairly in motion. Yet, thoroughly imbued with a reverence 
for the guaranteed rights of individuals, I was slow to adopt the 
strong measures which by degrees I have been forced to regard 
as being within the exceptions of the Constitution, and as indis- 
pensable to the public safety. Nothing is better known to his- 
tory than that courts of justice are utterly incomj^etent in such 
cases. Civil couils are organized chiefly for trials of individ- 
uals, or, at most, a few individuals acting in concert, and this 
in quiet times, and on charges of crimes well defined in the 
law. Even in times of peace, bands of horse-thieves and rob- 
bers frequently grow too numerous and powerful for the ordi- 
nary courts of justice. But what comparison, in numbers, have 
such bands ever borne to the insurgent sympathizers even in 
many of the loyal States ? Again, a jury too frequently has at 
least one member more ready to hang the panel than to hang 
the traitor. And yet, again, he who dissuades one man from 
volunteering, or induces one soldier to desert, weakens the 
Union cause as much as he who kills a Union soldier in battle. 
Yet this dissuasion or inducement may be so conducted as to be 
no defined crime of which any civil court would take cognizance. 
Ours is a case of rebellion— so called by the resolution before 
me — in fact, a clear, flagrant, and gigantic case of rebellion ; 
and the provision of the Constitution that " the privilege of the 
writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended unless when, in 
cases o^ rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it," 
is the provision which specially applies to our present case. 
This provision plainly attests the understanding of those who 
made the Constitution, that ordinary courts of justice are inade- 
quate to "cases of rebellion"— attests their purpose that, in 
such cases, men may be held in custody whom the courts, acting 



THE martyr's monument. 191 

on ordinary rules, would discharge. Haleas corpus does not dis- 
cbarge men who are proved to be guilty of defined crime ; and its 
suspension is allowed by the Constitution on purpose that men 
may be arrested and held who cannot be proved to be guilty of 
defined crime, " when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public 
safety may require it." This is precisely our present case — a case 
of rebellion, wherein the public safety does require the suspension. 
Indeed, arrests by process of courts, and arrests in cases of rebellion, 
do not proceed altogether upon the same basis. The former is 
directed at the small percentage of ordinary and continuous per- 
l^etration of crime ; while the latter is directed at sudden and 
extensive uprisings against the government, which at most will 
succeed or fail in no great length of time. In the latter case 
arrests are made, not so much for what has been done as for 
what probably would be done. The latter is more for the pre- 
ventive and less for the vindictive than the former. In such 
cases the purposes of men are much more easily understood 
than in cases of ordinai*y crime. The man who stands by and 
says nothing when the peril of his government is discussed, 
cannot be misunderstood. If not hindered, he is sure to help 
the enemy ; much more, if he talks ambiguously — talks for his 
country witli " buts," and "ifs" and " ands." Of how little 
value the constitutional provisions I have quoted will be ren- 
dered, if arrests shall never be made until defined crimes shall 
have been committed, may be illustrated by a few notable ex- 
amples. Gen. John C. Breckinridge, Gen. Robert E. Lee, Gen. 
Joseph E. Johnston, Gen. John B. Magruder, Gen. Wm. B. Pres- 
ton, Gen. Simon B. Buckner, and Commodore Franklin Buchanan, 
now occupying the very highest places in the rebel war service, 
were all within the power of the Government since the rebellion 
began, and were nearly as well known to be traitors then as 
now. Unquestionably, if we had seized and held them, the 
insurgent cause would be much weaker. But no one of them 
had then committed any crime defined in the law. Every one 
of them, if arrested, would have been discharged on Jicibeas cor- 
ptis, were the wiit allowed to operate. In view of these and 
similar cases, I think the time not unlikely to come when I shall 
be blamed for having made too few arrests rather than too many. 



192 THE martyr's monument. 

By the third resolution, the meeting indicate their opinion 
that military arrests may be constitutional in localities where 
rebellion actually exists, but that such arrests are unconstitutional 
in localities where rebellion or insurrection does not actually exist. 
They insist that such arrests shall not be made " outside of the 
lines of necessaiy military occupation and the scenes of insurrec- 
tion." Inasmuch, however, as the Constitution itself makes no 
such distinction, I am unable to believe that there is any such con- 
stitutional distinction. I concede that the class of arrests com- 
plained of can be constitutional only when, in cases of rebellion 
or invasion, the public safety may require them : and I insist 
that in such cases they are constitutional wlierever the public 
safety does require them ; as well in places to which they may 
prevent the rebellion extending as in those where it may be 
already prevailing ; as well where they may restrain mischiev- 
ous interference with the raising and supplying of armies to 
suppress the rebellion, as where the rebellion may actually be ; 
as well where they may restrain the enticing men out of the 
army, as where they would prevent mutiny in the army ; 
equally constitutional at all places where they will conduce to 
the public safety, as against the dangers of rebellion or invasion. 
Take the particular case mentioned by the meeting. It is asserted, 
in substance, that Mr. Vallandigham was, by a military comman- 
der, seized and tried " for no other reason than words addressed 
to a public meeting, in criticism of the course of the Admin- 
istration, and in condemnation of the military orders of the 
general." Now, if there be no mistake about this; if this 
assertion is the truth and the whole truth ; if there was no other 
reason for the arrest, then I concede that the arrest was wrong. 
But the arrest, as I understand, was made for a very different 
reason. Mr. Vallandigham avows his hostility to the war on 
the part of the Union ; and his arrest was made because he was 
laboring, with some effect, to prevent the raising of troops ; 
to encourage desertions from the army ; and to leave the rebel- 
lion without an adequate military force to suppress it. He was 
not arrested because he was damaging the political prospects 
of the Administration, or the personal interests of the com- 
manding general, but because he was damaging the army, upon 



193 



the existence and vigor of which the life of the nation depends. 
He was warring upon the military, and this gave the military 
constitutional jurisdiction to lay hands upon him. If Mr. Val- 
landigham was not damaging the military power of the country, 
then this arrest was made on mistake of fact, which I would be 
glad to correct on reasonably satisfactoiy evidence. 

I understand the meeting, whose resolutions I am consider- 
ing, to be in favor of suppressing the rebellion by military force 
by annies. Long experience has shown that armies cannot be 
maintained unless desertions shall be punished by the severe 
penalty of death. The case requires, and the law and the Consti- 
tution sanctions, this punishment. Must I shoot a simple- 
minded soldier boy who deserts, while I must not touch a hair of 
a wily agitator who induces him to desert ? This is none the 
less injurious when effected by getting a father, or brother, or 
friend, into a public meeting, and there working upon his feel- 
ings till he is persuaded to write the soldier boy that he is 
fighting in a bad cause, for a wicked Administration of a con- 
temptible Government, too weak to arrest and punish him if he 
shall desert. I think that in such a case to silence the agitator 
and save the boy is not only constitutioual, but withal a great 
mercy. 

If I be wrong on this question of constitutional power, my 
error lies in believing that certain proceedings are constitutional 
when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety requires 
them, which would not be constitutional when, in the absence 
of rebellion or invasion, the public safety does not require them ; 
in other words, that the Constitution is not, in its application, 
in all respects the same, in cases of rebellion or invasion involv- 
ing the public safety, as it is in time of profound peace and 
public security. The Constitution itself makes the distinction ; 
and I can no more be persuaded that the Government can con- 
stitutionally take no strong measures in time of rebellion, 
because it can be shown that the same could not be lawfully 
taken in time of peace, than I can be persuaded that a particu- 
lar drug is not good medicine for a sick man, because it can be 
shown not to be good food for a well one. Nor am I able to 
appreciate the danger apprehended by the meeting that the 

9 



194 THE martyr's monument. 

American people will, by means of military arrests during the 
rebellion, lose the right of public discussion, the liberty of 
speecli and the press, the law of evidence, trial by jury, and 
Mbeas corpus, throughout the indefinite peaceful future, which 
I trust lies before them, any more than I am able to believe that 
a man could contract so strong an appetite for emetics duiing 
temporary illness as to persist in feeding upon them during the 
remainder of his healthful life. 

In giving the resolutions that earnest consideration which 
you request of me, I cannot overlook the fact that the meeting 
speak as " Democrats." Nor can I, with full respect for their 
known intelligence, and the fairly presumed deliberation with 
which they j)repared their resolutions, be permitted to suppose 
that this occurred by accident, or in any way other than that 
they ijrefeiTed to designate themselves "Democrats" rather 
than " American citizens." 

In this time of national peril, I would have preferred to meet 
you on a level one step higher than any party platform ; because 
I am sure that, from such more elevated position, we could do 
better battle for the country we all love than we possibly can 
from those lower ones where, from the force of habit, the pre- 
judices of the past, and selfish hoi^es of the future, we are sure 
to expend much of our ingenuity and strength in. finding fault 
with and aiming blows at each other. But, since you have de- 
nied me this, I will yet be thankful, for the country's sake, that 
not all Democrats have done so. He on whose discretionary 
judgment Mr. Vallandigham was arrested and tried is a Demo- 
crat, having no old party affinity with me ; and the judge who 
rejected the constitutional view expressed in these resolutions, 
by refusing to discharge Mr. Vallandigham on habeas corpus, is 
a Democrat of better days than these, having received his judi- 
cial mantle at the hands of President Jackson. And still more, 
of all those Democrats who are nobly exposing their lives and 
shedding their blood on the battle-field, I have learned that 
many approve the course taken with Mr. Vallandigham, while 
I have not heard of a single one condemning it. I cannot as- 
sert that there are none such. And the name of Jackson recalls 
an incident of pertinent history : After the battle of New Or- 



THE martyr's monument. 195 

leans, and while the fact that the treaty of f>eace had been con- 
cluded was Vv-ell known in the city, ])ut before official knowledge 
of it had arrived, General Jackson still maintained martial or 
militaiT law. Now that it could be said the war was oyer, the 
clamor against martial law, which had existed from the first, 
grew more furious. Among other things, a Mr, Louiallier pub- 
lished a denunciatory newspaper article. General Jackson 
arrested him. A lawyer by the name of Morrel procured the 
United States Judge Hall to issue a writ of habeas corjms to re- 
lieve Mr. Louiallier. General Jackson arrested both the lawyer 
and the judge. A Mr. Hollander ventured to say of some part 
of the matter that "it was a dirty trick." General Jackson ar- 
rested him. "When the officer undertook to serve the writ of 
Jiadeas corpus, General Jackson took it from him, and sent him 
away with a coj^y. Holding the judge in custody a few days, 
the General sent him beyond the limits of his encampment, and 
set him at liberty, with an order to remain till the ratification 
of peace should be regularly announced, or until the British 
should have left the Southern coast. A day or two more 
elapsed, the ratification of a treaty of jjeace was regularly an- 
nounced, and the judge and others- were fully liberated. A few 
days more, and the judge called General Jackson into court and 
fined him $1,000 for having arrested him and the others named. 
The General paid the fine, and there the matter rested for nearly 
thirty years, when Congress refonded princij)al and interest. 
The late Senator Douglas, then in the House of Representatives, 
took a leading part in the debates, in which the constitutional 
question was much discussed. I am not prepared to say whom 
the journals would show to have voted for the measure. 

It may be remarked : First, that we had the same Constitu- 
tion then as now ; secondly, that we then had a case of invasion, 
and now we have a case of rebellion ; and, thirdly, that the per- 
manent nght of the people to public discussion, the liberty of 
speech and of the press, the trial by jury, the law of evidence, 
and the habeas corpus, suffered no detriment whatever by that 
conduct of General Jackson, or its subsequent approval by the 
American Congress. 

And yet, let me say that, in my own discretion, I do not know 



196 



whether 1 would have ordered the arrest of Mr. Vallandigham. 
While I cannot shift the responsibility from myself, I hold that, 
as a general rule, the commander in the field is the better judge 
of the necessity in any particular case. Of course I must prac- 
tise a general directory and revisory power in the matter. 

One of the resolutions exj)resses the opinion of the meeting 
that arbitrary arrests will have the effect to divide and distract 
those who should be united in suppressing the rebellion, and I 
am specifically called on to discharge Mr. Vallandigham. I re- 
gard this as, at least, a fair appeal to me on the expediency of 
exercising a constitutional power which I think exists. In 
response to such appeal, I have to say, it gave me pain when I 
learned that Mr. Vallandigham had been arrested — ^that is, I was 
pained that there should have seemed to be a necessity for arrest- 
ing him — and that it will afford me great pleasure to discharge 
him so soon as I can, by any means, believe the public safety 
will not suffer by it. I further say that, as the war j)rogresses, 
it appears to me, opinion and action, which were in great con- 
fusion at first, take shape and fall into more regular channels, 
so that the necessity for strong dealing with them gradually 
decreases. I have every reason to desire that it should cease 
altogether ; and far from the least is my regard for the opinions 
and wishes of those who, like the meeting at Albany, declare 
their purpose to sustain the Government in every constitutional 
and lawful measure to suppress the rebellion. Still, I must 
continue to do so much as may seem to be required by the 
public safety. A. Lincoln. 

Erroneously supposing that the people of Ohio sympa- 
thized with Mr. Vallandigham, and wishing to take ad- 
vantage of his eclat as a political martyr, the Democratic 
Convention held at Columbus, June 11, 1863, nominated 
him as Governor of the State, and sent a committee to 
Washington to wait on the President, present the resolu- 
tions of the Convention, and demand the immediate recall 
of Mr. Vallandigham. To this committee Mr. Lincoln 
addressed the followinor letter : 



THE martyr's monument. 197 

"Washington, D. C, June 29. 1863. 

Messrs. M. Bwchard^ David A. Houck^ George Bliss, T. W. Eart- 
hy, W. J. G(yrd<m, John O'Neill, G. A. White, W. E. Viiik, 
Alexander Long, J. W. White, George E. Pendleton, George L. 
Converse, Hanzo P. Noble, James B. Morris, W. A. Hutchins, 
Adner L. Backus, J, F, McKinney, P. G. Be Blond, Louis 
Schaefer. 

Gentlemen — The resolutions of the Ohio Democratic State 
Convention, which you present me, together with your intro- 
ductory and closing remarks, being in position and argument 
mainly the same as the resolutions of the Democratic meeting at 
Albany, New York, I refer you to my response to the latter as 
meeting most of the points in the former. 

This response you evidently used in preparing your remarks, 
and I desire no more than that it be used with accuracy. 
In a single reading of your remarks, I only discover one 
inaccuracy in matter which I suppose you took from that 
paper. It is where yoa say, " The undersigned are unable to 
agree with you in the opinion you have expressed that the Con- 
stitution is different in time of insurrection or invasion from what 
it is in time of peace and public security." 

A recurrence to the paper will show you that I have not 
expressed the opinion you suppose. I expressed the opinion 
that the Constitution is different in its application in cases of 
rebellion or invasion, involving the public safety, from what it 
is in times of profound paace and public security ; and this 
opinion I adhere to, simply because by the Constitution itself 
things may be done in the one case which may not be done in 
the other. 

I dislike to waste a word on a merely personal point, but I 
must respectfully assure you that you will find yourselves at 
fault should you ever seek for evidence to prove your assump- 
tion that I " opposed in discussions before the people the j)olicy 
of the Mexican war." 

You say: "Expunge from the Constitution this limitation 
upon the power of Congress to suspend the writ of habeas cor- 
pus, and yet the other guarantees of personal liberty would 
remain unchanged." Doubtless, if this clause of the Constitu- 



198 THE martyr's monument. 

tion, improperly called, as I tliink, a limitation upon the power 
of Congress, were expunged, the other guarantees would remain 
the same ; but the question is, not how those guarantees would 
stand with that clause out of the Constitution, but how they 
stand with that clause remaining in it, in case of rebellion or 
invasion, invohdng the public safety. If the liberty could be 
indulged in expunging that clause, letter and spirit, I really 
think the constitutional argument would be with you. 

My general view on this question was stated in the Albany 
response, and hence I do not state it now. I only add that, as 
seems to me, the benefit of the writ of habeas corpus is the great 
means through which the guarantees of personal liberty are 
conserved and made available in the last resort ; and corrobo- 
rative of this view is the fact that Mr. Vallandigham, in the 
very case in question, under the advice of able lawyers, saw not 
where else to go but to the habeas corpus. But by the Constitu- 
tion the benefit of the writ of habeas corpus itself may be sus- 
pended, w^hen, in case of rebellion or invasion, the public safety 
may require it. 

You ask, in substance, whether I really claim that I may over- 
ride all the guaranteed rights of individuals, on the plea of 
conserving the jDublic safety — when I may choose to say the 
public safety requires it. This question divested of the phrase- 
ology calculated to represent me as struggling for an arbitrary 
personal prerogative, is either simply a question icho shall 
decide, or an affirmation that nobody shall decide, what the 
public safety does require in cases of rebellion or invasion. 
The Constitution contemplates the question as likely to occur 
for decision, but it does not expressly declare v/no is to decide 
it. By necessary implication, when rebellion or invasion comes, 
the decision is to be made from time to time ; and I think the 
man w^hom, for the time, the people have, under the Constitu- 
tion, made the commander-in-chief of their army and navy, is 
the man who holds the power and bears the responsibility of 
making it. If he uses the power justly, the same people will 
probably justify him ; if he abuses it, he is in their hands to be 
dealt with by all the modes they have reserved to themselves in 
the Constitution. 



199 



The earnestness with which you insist that persons can only, 
in times of rebellion, be lawfully dealt with in accordance with 
the rules for criminal trials and punishments in times of j)eace, 
induce me to add a word to what I said on that point in the 
Albany response. You claim that men may, if they choose, 
embarrass those whose duty it is to combat a giant rebellion, 
and then be dealt with only in turn as if there were no rebel- 
lion. The Constitution itself rejects this view. The military- 
arrests and detentions which have been made, including those 
of Mr. Yallandigham, which are not different in principle from 
the other, have been for prevention, and not ior punishment — as 
injunctions to stay injury, as proceedings to keep the peace — 
and hence, like proceedings in such cases, and for like rea- 
sons, they have not been accompanied with indictments, or trial 
by juries, nor in a single case by any punishment whatever beyond 
what is purely incidental to the prevention. The original sen- 
tence of imprisonment in Mr, Vallandigham's case was to pre- 
vent injury to the military service only, and the modification of 
it was made as a less disagreable mode to him of securing the 
same prevention. 

I am unable to perceive an insult to Ohio in the case of Mr. 
Vallandigham. Quite surely nothing of this sort was or is 
intended. I was wholly unaware that Mr. Vallandigham was, 
at the time of his arrest, a candidate for the Democratic nomi- 
nation of governor, until so informed by your reading to me 
the re-.olutions of the convention. I am grateful to the State 
of Ohio for many things, especially for the brave soldiers and 
officers she has given in the present national trial to the armies 
of the Union. 

You claim, as I understand, that according to my own posi- 
tion in the Albany response, Mr. Vallandigham should be 
released ; and this because, as you claim, he has not damaged 
the military service by discouraging enlistments, encouraging 
desertions, or otherwise ; and that if he had, he should have 
been turned over to the civil authorities under the recent acts 
of Congress. I certainly do not Tcnow that Mr. Vallandigham 
has specifically and by direct language advised against enlist- 
ments and in favor of desertions, and resistance to drafting. 



200 



We all know that combinations, anned in some instances, to 
resist the arrest of deserters, began several months ago ; that 
more recently the like has appeared in resistance to the enrol- 
ment preparatory to a draft ; and that quite a number of assas- 
sinations have occurred from the same animus. These had to 
be met by military force, and this again has led to bloodshed 
and death. And now, under a sense of responsibility more 
weighty and enduring than any which is merely official, I sol- 
emnly declare my belief that this hindrance to the military, 
including the maiming and murder, is due to the cause in which 
Mr. Vallandigham has been engaged, in a greater degree than 
to any other cause ; and it is due to him personally in a greater 
degree than to any other man. 

These things have been notorious, known to all, and of course 
known to Mr. Vallandigham. Perhaps I would not be wrong 
to say they originated with his especial friends and adherents. 
With perfect knowledge of them he has frequently, if not con- 
stantly, made speeches in Congress and before popular assem- 
blies ; and if it can be shown that, with these things staring 
him in the face he has ever uttered a word of rebuke or coun- 
sel against them, it will be a fact greatly in his favor with me, 
and of which, as yet, I am totally ignorant. When it is known 
that the whole burden of his speeches has been to stir up men 
against the prosecution of the war, and that in the midst of 
resistance to it he has not been known in any instance to 
counsel against such resistance, it is next to impossible to repel 
the inference that he has counseled directly in favor of it. 

With all this before their eyes the convention you represent 
have nominated Mr. Vallandigham for governor of Ohio, and 
both they and you have declared the purpose to sustain the 
national Union by all constitutional means, but, of course, they 
and you, in common, reserve to yourselves to decide what are 
constitutional means, and, unlike the Albany meeting, you omit 
to state or intimate that, in your opinion, an army is a constitu- 
tional means of saving the Union against a rebellion, or even to 
intimate that you are conscious of an existing rebellion being 
in progress with the avowed object of destroying that very 
Union. At the same time, your nominee for governor, in whose 



THE martyr's monument. 201 

behalf you appeal, is known to you, and to the Tvorld, to declare 
agamst the use of an army to suppress the rebellion. Your 
own attitude, therefore, encourages desertion, resistance to the 
draft, and the like, because it teaches those who incline to 
desert and to escape the draft to believe it is your purpose to 
protect them, and to hojDC that you will become strong enough 
to do so. 

After a short personal intercourse ^dth you, gentlemen of the 
committee, I cannot say I think you desire this effect to follow 
your attitude ; but I assure you that both friends and enemies 
of the Union look upon it in this light. It is a substantial hope, 
and by consequence, a real strength to the enemy. If it is a 
false hope, and one which you would willingly dispel, I will 
make the way exceedingly easy. I send you duplicates of this 
letter, in order that you, or a majority, may, if you choose, 
endorse your names upon one of them, and return it, thus 
endorsed, to me, with the understanding that those signing are 
thereby committed to the following proi)ositions, and to nothing 
else : 

1. That there is now rebellion in the United States, the object 
and tendency of which is to destroy the national Union ; and 
that, in your opinion, an army and navy are constitutional 
means for suppressing that rebellion. 

2. That no one of you -will do anything which, in his own 
Judgment, will tend to hinder the increase, or favor the 
decrease, or lessen the efficiency of the army and navy, while 
engaged in the effort to suppress that rebellion ; and — 

3. That each of you will, in his sphere, do all he can to have 
the officers, soldiers, and seamen of the army and navy, while 
engaged in the effort to suppress the rebellion, paid, fed, clad, 
and otherwise well i^rovided for and supported. 

And with the further understanding that upon receiving the 
letter and names thus endorsed, I will cause them to be pub- 
lished, which publication shall be, within itself, a revocation of 
the order in relation to Mr. Vallandigham. 

It will not escape observation that I consent to the release of 
Mr. Vallandigham upon terms not embracing any pledge from 
him or from others as to what he will or will not do. I do this 



202 THE martyr's monument. 

because he is not present to speak for himself, or to authorize 
others to speak for him ; and hence I shall expect that, on 
returning, he would not put himself practically in antagonism 
with the position of his friends. But I do it chiefly because I 
thereby prevail on other influential gentlemen of Ohio to so 
define their position as to be of immense value to the army — 
thus more than compensating for the consequences of any mis- 
take in allowing Mr. Vallandigham to return, so that, on the 
whole, the public safety will not have sufiered by it. Still, in 
regard to Mr. Vallandigham and all others, I must hereafter, as 
heretofore, do so much as the public service may seem to require. 
I have the honor to be respectfully, yours, etc., 

A. Lincoln. 

The reader need hardlj be reminded that the President 
was heartily sustained in his action in this matter, not 
only by the country at large, but especially by Ohio, 
where Mr. Vallandigham, in spite of his "martyrdom," 
was defeated by an overwhelming majority. 

GETTYSBURG AND VICKSBURG. 

The important defeat of the rebels, under General Lee, 
by General Meade at Gettysburg on July 2d and 3d, of 
this year, and the hardly less important capture of Vicks- 
burg, with General Pemberton's army, on the 4th, did 
much to sustain and cheer the country in its trials. On 
the 7th, the President was waited on, at the White House, 
by a large crowd of people, with music, and made to 
them the following speech : 

Felloic- Citizens — I am very glad indeed to see you to-night, and 
yet I will not say I thank you for this call, but I do most sincerely 
thank Almighty God for the occasion on which you have called. 
(Cheers.) How long ago is it — eighty odd years — since on the 
4th of July, for the first time in the history of the world, a 



THE martyr's monument. 203 

nation, by its representatives, assembled and declared, as a self- 
evident truth, that "all men are created equal?" (Cheers.) 
That was the birthday of the United States of America. Since 
then the 4th of July has had several very peculiar recognitions. 
The two most distinguished men in the framing and support of 
the Declaration were Thomas Jefferson and John Adams — the 
one having penned it, and the other sustained it the most forcibly 
in debate — the only two of the fifty-five who sustained it being 
elected President of the United States. Precisely fifty years 
after they put their hands to the paper, it pleased Almighty God 
to take both from this stage of action. This was, indeed, an 
extraordinary and remarkable event in our history. Another 
President, five years after, was called from this stage of existence 
on the same day and month of the year ; and now, in this last 4th 
of July just passed, when we have a gigantic rebellion, at the 
bottom of which is an effort to overthrow the principles that 
all men were created equal, we have the surrender of a most 
powerful position and army on that very day. (Cheers.) And 
not only so, but in a succession of battles in Pennsylvania, near 
to us, through three days, so rapidly fought that they might be 
called one great battle on the 1st, 2d, and 3d of the month of 
July ; and on the 4th, the cohorts of those who opposed the 
declaration that all men are created equal, " turned tail" and 
ran. (Long continued cheers.) Gentlemen, this is a glorious 
theme, and the occasion for a speech ; but 1 am not prepared 
to make one worthy of the occasion. I would like to speak in 
terms of praise, due to the many brave officers and soldiers who 
have fought in the cause of the Union and liberties of their 
country from the beginning of the war. There are trying occa- 
sions not only in success, but for the want of success. I dislike 
to mention the name of one single officer, lest I might do wrong 
to those I might forget. Recent events bring up glorious names 
and particularly prominent ones ; but these I will not mention. 
Having said this much, I will now take the music. 

Mr. Lincoln did not, however, confine his acknowledg- 
ments of the great services then rendered to the country 
to public speeches or formal communications. He wrote 



204 THE martyr's monument. 

kind personal letters to the commanders. The following, 
which he addressed to General Grant, contains a frank 
confession of erroneous judgment on the part of the 
President : 

Executive Mansion, Washington, July 13, 1S63. 

Ma^or- General Grant — My Dear General — I do not remember 
that you and I ever met personally. I write this now as a grate- 
ful acknowledgment for the almost inestimable services you 
have done the country. I write to say a word further. When 
you first reached the vicinity of Yicksburg, I thought you 
should do what you finally did — march the troops across the 
neck, run the batteries with the transports, and thus go below ; 
and I never had any faith, except a general hope that you knew 
better than I, that the Yazoo Pass expedition, and the like, 
could succeed. When you got below, and took Port Gibson, 
Grand Gulf, and vicinity, I thought you should go down the 
river, and join General Banks, and when you turned northward, 
east of the Big Black, I feared it was a mistake. I now wish to 
make the personal acknowledgment, that you were right and I 
was wrong. Yours, truly, A. Lincoln. 

The proclamation which the President issued upon oc- 
casion of these victories is worthy of perusal on account 
of the truly grateful spirit with which it is imbued, and 
the appearance of that tenderness of heart and forgiving 
disposition which were such marked traits in Mr. Lincoln's 
character. 

PROCLAMATION. 

It has pleased Almighty God to hearken to the supplications 
and prayers of an afflicted people, and to vouchsafe to the Army 
and the Navy of the United States, on the land and on the sea, 
victories so signal and so eflFective as to furnish reasonable 
grounds for augmented confidence that the Union of these 
States will be maintained, their Constitution preserved, and 
their peace and prosperity permanently secured ; but these vie 



205 



tories have been accorded, not without sacrifice of life, limb, 
and liberty, incurred, by brave, patriotic, and loyal citizens. 
Domestic affliction, in every part of the country, follows in the 
train of these fearful bereavements. It is meet and right to 
recognize and confess the presence of the Almighty Father, and 
the power of his hand equally in thesetriumj)hs and these sorrows. 

Now, therefore, be it known, that I do set apart Thursday, 
the sixth day of August next, to be observed as a day for Na- 
tional Thanksgiving, praise, and prayer ; and I invite the peo- 
ple of the United States to assemble on that occasion in their 
customary places of worship, and in the form approved by their 
own conscience, render the homage due to the Divine Majesty, 
for the wonderful things He has done in the nation's behalf, 
and invoke the influence of His Holy Spirit, to subdue the an- 
ger which has produced, and so long sustained a needless and 
cruel rebellion ; to change the hearts of the insurgents ; to guide 
the counsels of the Government with wisdom adequate to so 
great a national emergency, and to visit with tender care, and 
consolation, throughout the length and breadth of our land, all 
those who, through the vicissitudes of marches, voyages, bat- 
tles, and sieges, have been brought to suffer in mind, body, or 
estate, and finally, to lead the whole nation through paths of 
repentance and submission to the Divine will, back to the per- 
fect enjoyment of union and fraternal peace. 

In mtness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused 
the seal of the United States to be affixed. 

Done at the City of Washington, this 15th day of July, in the 
year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 
[l. s.] sixty-three, and of the independence of the United 
States of America the eighty-eighth. 

Abraham Lincoln. 

By the President : 

William H. Sewaed, Secretary of State. 

PROTECTION TO NEGRO SOLDIERS. 

Although the rebels had from the beginning of the war 
made such use of their slaves in their armies as seemed 
good to them, thej became furious "when the Governnvint 



206 



proposed to put negroes actually into the ranks. They 
denounced this as a savage attempt to excite a servile in- 
surrection, and they declared that negro soldiers, if taken 
prisoners, should not be regarded as ordinary prisoners 
of war, but be handed over to the local authorities of the 
State in which they were captured. This w^as only anoth- 
er way of saying that they should be put to death under 
the " black laws" of the Slave States. They carried out 
this threat in many instances ; and in many more they 
slaughtered upon the field negro soldiers who had surren- 
dered. Slow to anger, and shrinking with horror from 
bloody retaliation. President Lincoln, however, at last 
was driven to issue upon this subject the following order : 

War Depaktment, Adjutant-General's Office, ) 
Washington, Juty 31, 1863. f 

General Order No. 252. — The following order of tlie President 
is published for the information and government of all concerned : 

Executive Mansion, ) 
Washington, July 30. ) 

It is the duty of every Government to give protection to its 
citizens, of whatever class, color or condition, and especially 
those who are duly organized as soldiers in the public service. 
The law of nations and the usages and customs of war, as car- 
ried on by civilized powers, permit no distinction as to color in 
the treatment of prisoners of war as public enemies. To sell 
or enslave any captured person on account of his color, and for 
no offence against the laws of war, is a relapse into barbarism 
and a crime against the civilization of the age. The Govern- 
ment of the United States will give the same protection to all 
its soldiers, and if the enemy shall sell or enslave any one 
because of his color, the offence shall be punished by retaliation 
upon the enemy's prisoners in our possession. It is, therefore, 
ordered that for every soldier of 'the United States killed in 
violation of the laws of war, a rebel soldier shall be executed, 
and for every one enslaved by the enemy or sold into slavery, a 
rebel soldier shall be placed at hard labor on the public works, 



THE martyr's monument. 207 

and continued at such labor until the other shall be released and 

receive the treatment due to a prisoner of war. 

Abraham Lincoln. 
By order of the Secretary of War. 

E. D. TowNSEND, Assistmit Adjutant-General. 

THE ANTI-DRAFT RIOTS — GOVERNOR SEYMOUR. 

A law was passed by Congress providing that the ranks 
of the array should be filled by a draft. This was in 
accordance with a suggestion made by General McClellan, 
August 20th, 1861, when he Avas in command of the 
Army of the Potomac. The unscrupulous among the 
opponents of Mr. Lincoln's Administration, and the de- 
fenders of the rebellion generally in the Free States 
endeavored for months to stir up the people in resistance 
to this law. A provision of the law by which any drafted 
man might be furnished at his choice with a substitute by 
paying §300 to the Government, was particularly used 
as a means of exciting animosity, on the ground that it 
was directed against the poor who could not command 
that sum, while it favored the rich who could. The 
World, a daily journal of New York, which, according 
to evidence produced in a court of law, had been offered 
for sale, with the services of its editor, Mr. M. Marble, 
both to the supporters of the war and to its opponents, 
and which, having been purchased by the latter, was chiefly 
known by its active encouragement of the rebellion, having 
even gone so far as to declare that it had "always main- 
tained" that the President " had no right to complain of 
the action of the Slave States," and that the people of 
New York '-no more lived under the Constitution than 
the people now in Georgia," and having counseled its 
readers to provide themselves with arms, and keep in 



208 THE martyr's monument. 

" every family" a '' good rifled musket, a few pounds of 
powder, and a hundred or so of shot," to " defend their 
homes and personal liberties from invasion from any 
quarter" — meaning, of course, from Canada — distin- 
guished itself by its efforts to provoke active ill-feeling 
upon this subject. These efforts, directed by the malig- 
nant, and inflaming the thoughtless and the ignorant, 
were followed by events equally disastrous and sig- 
nificant. It would be superfluous to mention more in 
detail the Irish Anti-Draft Riots of July, 1863, in 
which New York, in the absence of its militia regiments, 
was for three days disgraced by scenes of blood, arson, and 
plunder. The riots were subdued by the vigorous action 
of the Metropolitan Police force, aided by a few troops 
brought up from the forts in the harbor, and order was 
secured by the arrival of some regiments from the array 
in the field, and the return of some of the militia. The 
draft, of course, was ordered to go on as soon as tran- 
quillity was restored, all the more in consequence of the 
riots. But Horatio Seymour, then Governor of New 
York, who on more than one occasion seemed to be re- 
garded by the rioters as their particular friend, thought, 
it would appear, that this assertion of its authority and 
this execution of an Act of Congress in the face of 
threatened violence was unbecoming, or at least impolitic, 
and he applied by letter to the President to have the 
draft postponed until the constitutionality of the law 
could be decided by the judicial tribunals. To this the 
President replied by the following letter. 

Executive Mansion, Washington, August 7, 1863. 

His Excellency Horatio Seymour^ Governor of New TorTc^ Albany^ 
N. T. —Your communication of the 3d inst. lias been received and 



THE martyr's monument. 209 

attentively coDsidered. I can not consent to suspend the draft 
in New York, as you request, because, among other reasons, 
TESTE is too important. By the figures you send, which I pre- 
sume are correct, the twelve districts represented fall in two 
classes of eight and four respectively. 

The disparity of the quotas for the draft in these two classes 
is certainly very striking, being the difference between an aver- 
age of 2,200 in one class, and 4,864 in the other. Assuming 
that the districts are equal, one to another, in entire population, 
as required by the plan on which they were made, this disparity 
is such as to require attention. Much of it, however, I suppose 
will be accounted for by the fact that so many more persons fit 
for soldiers are in the city than in the country, who have too 
recently arrived from other parts of the United States and from 
Europe to be either included in the census of 1860, or to have 
voted in 1862. Still, making due allowance for this, I am yet 
unwilling to stand upon it as an entirely sufficient explanation 
of the great disparity. I shall direct the draft to proceed in all 
the districts, drawing, however, at first, from each of the four 
districts — to wit, the Second, Fourth, Sixth and Eighth— only 
2,200, being the average quota of the other class. After this 
drawing, these four districts, and also the Seventeenth and 
Twenty-ninth, shall be carefully reenrolled ; and, if you please, 
agents of yours may witness every step of the process. Any 
deficiency which may appear by the new enrolment will be sup- 
plied by a special draft for that object, allowing due credit for 
volunteers who may be obtained from these districts respectively 
during the interval ; and at all points, so far as consistent with 
practical convenience, due credits shall be given for volunteers, 
and your excellency shall be notified of the time fixed for com- 
mencing a draft in each district. 

I do not object to abide a decision of the United States Su- 
preme Court, or of the judges thereof, on the constitutionality 
of the draft law. In fact I should be willing to facilitate the 
obtaining of it. But I can not consent to lose the time while it 
is being obtained. We are contending with an enemy who, as 
I understand, drives every able-bodied man he can reach into 
his ranks, very much as a butcher drives bullocks into a slaugh- 



210 THE martyr's monument. 

ter-pen. No time is wasted, no argument is used. This pro- 
duces an army which will soon turn upon our now victorious 
soldiers already in the field, if they shall not be sustained by 
recruits as they should be. It produces an army with a rapidity 
not to be matched on our side, if we first waste time to reex- 
periment with the volunteer system, already deemed by Con- 
gress, and palpably, in fact, so far exhausted as to be inadequate ; 
and then more time to obtain a court decision as to whether a 
law is constitutional which requires a part of those not now in 
the service to go to the aid of those v,'ho are already in it ; and 
still more time to determine with absolute certainty that we get 
those who are to go in the precisely legal proportion to those 
who are not to go. My purpose is to be in my action just and 
constitutional, and yet practical, in performing the important 
duty with which I am charged, of maintaining the unity and 
the free principles of Qur common country. Your obedient 
servant, A. Lincoln. 

Governor Seymour returned to the charge in another 
letter, reasserting the injustice of the law, and supporting 
his position by an opinion prepared by Nelson J. Water- 
bury, then Judge Advocate of New York. To this let- 
ter Mr. Lincoln replied as follows : 

Executive Mansion, Washington, A^cgu8t 11, 1863. 

His Excellency Horatio Seymour^ Oovern(y)' of New York : — 
Yours of the 8th, with Judge- Advocate General Waterbury's 
report, was received to-day. 

Asking you to remember that I consider time as being very 
important, both to the general cause of the country and to the 
soldiers in the field, I beg to remind you that I waited, at your 
request, from the 1st until the 6th inst. to receive your commu- 
cation dated the 3d. In view of its great length, and the 
known time and apparent care taken in its preparation, I did 
not doubt that it contained your full case as you desired to 
present it. It contained the figures for twelve districts, omit- 



THE martyr's monument. 211 

ting the other nineteen, as I sujDposed, because you found noth- 
ing to complain of as to them. I answered accordingly. In 
doing so I laid down the principle to which I purpose adhering, 
which is to proceed with the draft, at the same time employing 
infallible means to avoid any great wrong. With the commu- 
nication received to-day you send figures for twenty-eight dis- 
tricts, including the twelve sent before, and still omitting three, 
for which I suppose the enrolments are not yet received. In 
looking over the fuller list of twenty -eight districts, I find that 
the quotas for sixteen of them are above 2,000 and below 2,700, 
while of the rest, six are above 2,700, and six are below 2,000. 
Applying the principle to these new facts, the Fifth and Seventh 
Districts must be added to the four in which the quotas have 
already been reduced to 2,200 for the first draft ; and with these 
four others must be added to those to be reenrolled. The cor- 
rect case will then stand : the quotas of the Second, Fourth, 
Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Districts fixed at 2,200 for the 
first draft. The Provost-Marshal General informs me that the 
drawing is already completed in the Sixteenth, Seventeenth, 
Eighteenth, Twenty-second, Twenty-fourth, Twenty-sixth, Twen- 
ty-seventh, Twenty-Eighth, Twenty-ninth, and Thirtieth Dis- 
tricts. In the others, except the three outstanding, the draw- 
ing will be made upon the quotas as now fixed. After the first 
draft, the Second, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Six- 
teenth, Seventeenth, Twenty-first, Twenty-fifth, Twenty-ninth, 
and Thirty-first will be enrolled for the purpose and in the man- 
ner stated in my letter of the 7th inst. The same principle will 
be applied to the now outstanding districts when they shall 
come in. No part of my former letter is repudiated by reason 
of not being restated in this, or for any other cause. 

Your obedient servant, 

A. Lincoln. 

The draft was resumed on the 19th of August, and 
completed without further opposition. 



212 THE martyr's monument. 



"unconditional union men. 



About the beginning of the second year of the rebel- 
lion certain men, hearty supporters of the war for its sup- 
pression, and hitherto of the policy of the Administra- 
tion, began to talk of "unconditional loyalty," and to 
style themselves " Unconditional Union Men." Mr. Lin- 
coln thought that he discovered that their unconditional 
loyalty meant loyalty on condition that slavery was imme- 
diately and entirely abolished, and the ranks of the army 
recruited from the negroes ; and although his hatred of 
slavery was no less than theirs, he thought that their pur- 
poses were unwise, and their professions somewhat incon- 
sistent with their demands. In August they held a Con- 
vention at Springfield, Illinois, and invited the Presi- 
dent to be present. He declined the invitation in the 
following letter : 

ExEOUTivK Mansion, Washington, August 26, 1863. 

Eon. James M. Conkling — Dear Sir — Your letter inviting me 
to attend a mass meeting of tlie Unconditional Union men, to be 
held at the capital of Illinois, on the 3d day of September, has 
been received. It would be very agreeable for me thus to meet 
my old friends at my own home ; but I cannot just now be ab- 
sent from here so long as a visit there would require. 

The meeting is to be of all those who maintain unconditional 
devotion to the Union ; and I am sure that my old political 
friends will thank me for tendering, as I do, the nation's grati- 
tude to those other noble men whom no partisan malice or par- 
tisan hope can make false to the nation's life. 

There are those who are dissatisfied with me. To such I 
would say : you desire peace, and you blame me that we do not 
have it. But how can we attain it ? There are but three con- 
ceivable ways : First — to suppress the Rebellion by force of 
arms. This I am trying to do. Are you for it ? If you are, so 
far we are agreed. If you are not for it, a second way is to give 



213 



up the Union. I am against this. Are you for it ? If you are 
you should say so plainly. If you are not for/ore^, nor yet for 
dissolution^ there onh^ remains some imaginable compromise. 

I do not believe that any compromise embracing the mainte- 
nance of the Union is now possible. All that I learn leads to 
a directly opposite belief. The strength of the Rebellion is its 
military, its army. That army dominates all the country, and all 
the people within its range. Any offer of terms made by any man 
or men within that range, in opposition to that army, is simply 
nothing for the present ; because such man or men have no 
power whatever to enforce their side of a compromise, if one 
were made with them. 

To illustrate : Suppose refugees from the South and peace 
men from the North get together in convention, and frame and 
proclaim a compromise embracing a restoration of the Union. 
In what way can that compromise be used to keep Lee's army 
out of Pennsylvania? Meade's army can keep Lee's army 
out of Pennsylvania, and, I think, can ultimately drive it out 
of existence. But no paper compromise to which the control- 
lers of Lee's army are not agreed can at all affect that army. In 
an effort at such compromise we would waste time, which the 
enemy would improve to our disadvantage ; and that would be all. 

A compromise, to be effective, must be made either with 
those who control the rebel army, or with the people, first lib- 
erated from the domination of that army by the success of our 
own army. Now, allow me to assure you that no word or inti- 
mation from that rebel army, or from any of the men control- 
ling it, in relation to any peace compromise, has ever come to 
my knowledge or belief. All charges and insinuations to the 
contrary are deceptive and groundless. And I promise you 
that if any such proposition shall hereafter come, it shall not be 
rejected and kept a secret from you. I freely acknowledge my- 
self to be the servant of the people, according to the bond of 
service, the United States Constitution; and that, as such, I am 
responsible to them. 

But, to be plain. You are dissatisfied with me about the 
negro. Quite likely there is a difference of opinion between 
you and myself upon that subject. I certainly wish that all 



214 THE maktyr's monument. 

men could be free, while you, I suppose, do not. Yet, 1 have 
neither adopted nor proposed any measure which is not con- 
sistent with even your views, provided that you are for the 
Union. I suggested compensated emancipation ; to which you 
replied you wished not be taxed to buy negroes. But I had not 
asked you to be taxed to buy negroes, except in such way as to 
save you from greater taxation to save the Union, exclusively by 
other means. 

You dislike the Emancipation Proclamation, and perhaps 
would have it retracted. You say it is miconstitutional. I 
think differently. I think the Constitution invests its Com- 
mander-in-Chief with the law of war in time of war. The 
most that can be said, if so much, is, that slaves are property. 
Is there, has there ever been, any question that by the law^ of 
war, property, both of enemies and friends, may be taken when 
needed? And is it not needed whenever it helps us and 
hurts the enemy ? Armies, the world over, destroy enemies 
property when they cannot use it ; and even destroy their own 
to keep it from the enemy. Civilized belligerents do all in their 
power to help themselves or hurt the enemy, except a few things 
regarded as barbarous or cruel. Among the exceptions are the 
massacre of vanquished foes and non-combatants, male and 
female. 

But the Proclamation, as law, either is valid, or is not valid. 
K it is not valid it needs no retraction. If it is valid it cannot 
be retracted, any more than the dead can be brought to life. 
Some of you profess to think its retraction would operate favor- 
ably for the Union. Why better aj'ter the retraction than l)efore 
the issue ? There was more than a year and a half of trial to 
suppress the Rebellion before the Proclamation was issued, the 
last one hundred days of which passed under an explicit notice 
that it was coming, unless averted by those in revolt returning 
to their allegiance. The war has certainly progressed as favor- 
ably for us since the issue of the Proclamation as before. 

I know, as fully as one can know the opinions of others, that 
some of the commanders of our armies in the field, who have 
given us our most imjDortant victories, believe the emancipation 
policy and the use of colored troops constitute the heaviest 



THE martyr's monument. 215 

blows yet dealt to the Rebellion, and that at least one of those 
important successes could not have been achieved when it was 
but for the aid of black soldiers. 

Among the commanders who hold these views are some who 
have never had any affinity with what is called " Abolitionism," 
or with '' Rej^ublican party politics," but who hold them purely 
as military opinions. I submit their opinions as entitled to 
some weight against the objections often urged that emancipa- 
tion and arming the blacks are unwise as military measures, 
and were not adopted as such in good faith. 

You say that you will not fight to free negroes. Some of 
them seem willing to fight for you ; but no matter. Fight you, 
then, exclusively to save the Union. I issued the Proclamation 
on purjDose to aid you in saving the Union. Whenever you 
shall have conquered all resistance to the Union, if I shall urge 
you to continue fighting, it will be an apt time then for you to 
declare you will not fight to free negroes. I thought that in 
your struggle for the Union, to whatever extent the negroes 
should cease helping the enemy, to that extent it weakened the 
enemy in his resistance to you. Do you think differently ? I 
thought that whatever negroes can be got to do as soldiers, 
leaves just so much less for white soldiers to do in saving the 
Union. Does it appear otherwise to you ? But negroes, like 
other people, act upon motives. Why should they do anything 
for us if we will do nothing for them ? If they stake their 
lives for us they must be prompted by the strongest motive, 
even the promise of freedom. And the promise, being made, 
must be kept. 

The signs look better. The Father of Waters again goes 
un vexed to the sea. Thanks to the great Northwest for it ; nor 
yet wholly to them. Three hundred miles up they met New 
England, Empire, Keystone, and Jersey, hewing their way right 
and left. The sunny South, too, in more colors than one, also 
lent a helping hand. On the spot, their part of the history 
was jotted down in black and white. The job was a great 
national one, and let none be slighted who bore an honorable 
part in it. And while those who have cleared the great river 
may well be proud, even that is not all. It is hard to say that 



216 THE martyr's monument. 

anything has been more bravely and well done than at Antie- 
tam, Murfreesboro, Gettysburg, and on many fields of less note. 
Kor must Uncle Sam's web feet be forgotten. At all the watery 
margins they have been present, not only on the deep sea, the 
broad bay, and the rapid river, but also up the narrow, muddy 
bayou, and wherever the ground was a little damp they have 
been and made their tracks. Thanks to all. For the great 
Republic — for the principle it lives by and keeps alive — for 
man's vast future — thanks to all. 

Peace does not appear so distant as it did. I hope it will 
come soon and come to stay ; and so come as to be worth the 
keeping in all future time. It will then have been proved that 
among freemen there can be no successful appeal from the 
ballot to the bullet, and that they who take such appeal are 
sure to lose their case and pay the cost. And there will be 
some black men who can remember that with silent tongue, and 
clinched teeth, and steady eye, and well-poised bayonet, they 
have helped mankind on to this great consummation, while I 
fear there will be some white ones unable to forget that with 
malignant heart and deceitful speech they have striven to hin- 
der it. 

Still, let us not be over-sanguine of a speedy, final triumph. 
Let us be quite sober. Let us diligently apply the means, never 
doubting that a just God, in His own good time, will give us 
the rightful result. Yours, very truly, A. Lincoln. 

HABEAS CORPUS. 

It was pretended by those who wished to embarrass 
the Government that although Congress had authorized 
the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas 
corpus^ that suspension could only take place legally in 
those military districts in which it had been formally 
proclaimed. To meet these cavils Mr. Lincoln issued the 
following proclamation that the privilege in question was 
suspended throughout the United States in all cases 
ejGfected by the existing rebellion. 



THE martyr's monument. 217 

PROCLAMATION. 

Whereas^ The Constitution of the United States has ordained 
that '' The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be 
suspended, unless, when in cases of rebellion or invasion, the 
public safety may require it ; and, whereas, a rebellion was ex- 
isting on the 3d day of March, 1863, which rebellion is still 
existing; and, whereas, by a statute which was approved on 
that day, it was enacted by the Senate and House of Represen- 
tatives of the United States, in Congress assembled, that during 
the present insurrection the President of the United States, 
whenever, in his judgment, the public safety may require, is 
authorized to suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus 
in any case throughout the United States, or any part thereof; 
and, whereas, in the judgment of the President the public safety 
does require that the privilege of the said writ shall now be 
suspended throughout the United States in cases where, by the 
authority of the President of the United States, military, naval 
and civil officers of the United States, or any of them, hold 
persons under their command or in their custody, either as 
prisoners of war, spies, or aiders or abettors of the enemy, or 
officers, soldiers, or seamen enrolled, drafted or mustered, or 
enlisted in, or belonging to the land or naval forces of the 
United States, or as deserters therefrom, or otherwise amenable 
to military law, or to the rules and articles of war, or the rules 
and regulations prescribed for the military or naval services by 
the authority of the President of the United States, or for 
resisting the draft, or for any other offence against the military 
or naval service ; now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, Presi- 
dent of the United States, do hereby proclaim and make known 
to all whom it may concern, that the jDrivilege of the writ of 
liabeoA corpus is suspended throughout the United States, in the 
several cases before mentioned, and that this suspension will 
continue throughout the duration of the said rebellion, or until 
this Proclamation shall, by a subsequent one, to be issued by 
the President of the United States, be modified and revoked. 
And I do hereby require all magistrates, attorneys, and other 
civil officers within the United States, and all officers and others 

10 



218 THE martyr's monument. 

in the military and naval services of the United States, to take 
distinct notice of this suspension and give it full effect, and all 
citizens of the United States to conduct and govern themselves 
accordingly, and in conformity with the Constitution of the 
United States, and the laws of Congress in such cases made 
and provided. 

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused 
the seal of the United States to be aflBxed, this fifteenth day of 
September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred 
and sixty-three, and of the independence of the United States 
of America the eighty-eighth. 

Abraham Lincoln. 

By the President : 

Wm. H. Seward, Secretary of State. 

THANKSGHVING. 

To observers not fully informed, or who saw only what 
they wished to see, the rebellion seemed as formidable as 
ever. But very important progress had been made in its 
suppression, and the country north of the Potomac had 
begun to recover its prosperity, while the fear of foreign 
intervention had passed away. In thankful acknowledg- 
ment of these blessings the President issued the following 

PROCLAMATION. 

The year that is drawing towards its close has been filled with 
the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these 
bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to 
forget the source from which they come, others have been added 
which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to 
penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensi- 
ble to the ever watchful 23rovidence of Almighty God, In the 
midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, 
which has sometimes seemed to invite and provoke the aggres- 
sions of foreign states, peace has been preserved with all nations, 



THE martyr's monument. 219 

order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and 
obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the 
theatre of military conflict, while that theatre has been greatly 
contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. 
The needful diversion of wealth and strength from the fields ot 
peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the 
plough, the shuttle, or the ship. The axe has enlarged the borders 
of our settlements, and the mines as well of iron and coal as of the 
precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than here- 
tofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the 
waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battle- 
field ; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of aug- 
mented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect a continuance 
of years, Tvith large increase of freedom. 

No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand 
worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of 
the Most High God, who, wliile dealing with us in anger for 
our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. 

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be 
solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one 
heart and voice, by the whole American people. I do, therefore, 
invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and 
also those who are at sea, and those who are sojourning in 
foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday ot 
November next, as a day of thanksgiving and prayer to our 
beneficent Father, who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recom- 
mend to them that, while offering up the ascriptions justly due 
to him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do, 
also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and dis- 
obedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become 
widows, orphans, mourners, or sufierers in the lamentable civil 
strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently im- 
plore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds 
of the nation, and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with 
the divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, 
tranquillity, and union. 

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and 
caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. 



220 



Done at the city of Washington, this third day of October, in 
[l. s.] the year of our Lord, 1863, and of the independence 
of the United States the eighty-eighth. 

Abraham Lincoln. 
By the President : 

Wm. H. Skward, Secretary of State. 



THE GETTYSBURG CEMETERY. 

General Meade's victory at Gettysburg had done away 
all fear of a serious invasion of the Free States. The 
importance of the victory gained by those bloody three- 
days' battles, made some commemoration of it highly 
proper ; and it was very fitly determined that a monu- 
ment should be erected in a cemetery at Gettysburg, in 
which all the soldiers who fell in those battles should be 
interred. Mr. Lincoln was present at the dedication of 
that cemetery on the 19th of November, 1863, and made 
the following brief, but now world-renowned 

SPEECH. 

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon 
this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated 
to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are 
engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any 
nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. We are 
met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to 
dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-j)lace for those 
who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is 
altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But in a 
larger sense we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we can- 
not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who 
struggled here, have consecrated it far above our power to add 
or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, 
what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. 



THE martyr's monument. 221 

It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the 
unfinished work whicli they who fought here have thus far so 
nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to 
the great task remaining before us, that from these honored 
dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they 
gave the last full measure of devotion ; that we here highly 
resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain ; that this 
nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that 
government of the people, by the people, and for the people, 
shall not perish from the earth. 

THE VICTORY OF CHATTANOOGA. 

The long struggle for the possession of East Tennessee, 
the key of the country southward, was brought to a close 
by General Grant's great victory at Chattanooga, after 
which the rebellion settled steadily downward to its final 
ruin. Of this victory the President made the following 
announcement, accompanied by a recommendation of 
thanksgiving : 

Executive Mansion, Washington, D. C, Deceniber 7, 1863. 

Reliable information being received that the insurgent force 
is retreating from East Tennessee, under circumstances render- 
ing it probable that the Union forces can not hereafter be dis- 
lodged from that important position ; and esteeming this to be 
of high national consequence, I recommend that all loyal 
people do, on receipt of this information, assemble at their 
places of worship, and render special homage and gratitude to 
Almighty God for this great advancement of the national cause. 

A. LmcoLN. 

THE MISSOURI FEUD. 

The conflict between the self-styled Unconditional 
Union party and those who really were loyal to the repub- 



222 THE martyr's monument. 

lie without condition, continued, and in fact became more 
and more bitter. The former party complained that 
General Schofield and Governor Gamble were really 
friends of the rebels in that district. How truly they 
were so, with the support of the Government, will appear 
from the following : 

INSTRUCTONS TO GENERAL SCHOFIELD. 

Executive Mansion, Washington, D. C, October 1, 1863. 

General John M. Schofield — There is no organized military 
force in avowed opposition to the General Government now in 
Missouri, and if any shall reappear, your duty in regard to it 
will be too plain to requii'e any special instruction. Still, the 
condition of things, both there and elsewhere, is such as to 
render it indispensable to maintain, for a time, the United 
States military establishment in that State, as well as to rely 
upon it for a fair contribution of support to that establishment 
generally. Your immediate duty in regard to Missouri now^ is 
to advance the efficiency of that establishment, and to so use it, 
as far as practicable, to compel the excited people there to let 
one another alone. 

Under your recent order, which I have approved, you will 
only arrest individuals, and suppress assemblies or newspapers, 
when they may be working palpable injury to the military in 
your charge ; and in no other case will you interfere with the 
expression of opinion in any form, or allow it to be interfered 
with violently by others. In this you have a discretion to exer- 
cise with great caution, calmness, and forbearance. 

With the matter of removing the inhabitants of certain coun- 
ties en masse, and of removing certain individuals from time to 
time, who are supposed to be mischievous, I am not now inter- 
fering, but am leaving to your own discretion. 

Nor am I interfering with what may still seem to you to be 
necessary restrictions upon trade and intercourse. I think 
proper, however, to enjoin upon you the following : Allow no 
part of the military under your command to be engaged in either 



THE martyr's monument. 223 

returning fugitive slaves, or in forcing or enticing slaves from 
their homes; and, so far as f>racticable, enforce the same for- 
bearance among the people. 

Report to me your opinion upon the availability for good 
of the enrolled militia of the State. Allow no one to enlist 
colored troops, except upon orders from you, or from here 
through you. 

Allow no one to assume the functions of confiscating property, 
under the law of Congress, or otherwise, except upon orders 
from here. 

At elections see that those, and only those, are allowed to 
vote, who are entitled to do so by the laws of Missouri, 
including as those laws the restrictions laid by the Missouri 
Convention upon those who may have participated in the 
rebellion. 

So far as practicable, you will, by means of your military 
force, expel guerrillas, marauders, and murderers, and all who 
are known to harbor, aid, or abet them. But in like manner 
you -yAT^ll repress assumptions of unauthorized individuals to 
perform the same service, because under pretence of doing this 
they become marauders and murderers themselves. 

To now restore peace, let the military obey orders ; and those 
not of the military leave each other alone, thus not breaking the 
peace themselves. 

In giving the above directions, it is not intended to restrain 
you in other expedient and necessary matters not falling within 
their range. Your obedient servant, 

A. Lincoln. 

The unconditional anti-slavery party, however, were 
not to be thus satisfied. They were formidable in num- 
bers, and bold in action. They held a convention at the 
capital of the State, and sent a delegation consisting of 
one from each county of the State to make certain de- 
mands of the President. They also attempted with 
some success to organize a support of their views and 
measures throuo^hout the Free States. To the address of 



224 



the committee of delegates Mr. Lincoln made the follow- 
ing reply: 

Executive Mansion, "Washington, Oct. 5, 1865. 

non. Charles Drake and others, Committee — Gentlemen — ^Your 
original address, presented on the 30tli ult., and the four sup- 
plementary ones presented on the Ed inst., have been carefully 
considered. I hope you will regard the other duties claiming 
my attention, together with the great length and importance of 
these documents, as constituting a sufficient apology for my not 
having responded sooner. 

These papers, framed for a common object, consist of the 
things demanded, and the reasons for demanding them. 

The things demanded are : 

First — That General Schofield shall be relieved, and Grcnerai 
Butler be appointed as Commander of the Military Department 
of Missouri ; 

Second — That the system of enrolled militia in Mssouri may 
be broken up, and National forces be substituted for it; and 

Third — That at elections, persons may be allowed to vote who 
are not entitled by law to do so. 

Among the reasons given, enough of suffering and wrong to 
TJnion men, is certainly, and I suppose truly, stated. Yet the 
whole case, as presented, fails to convince me that General Scho- 
field, or the enrolled militia, is responsible for that suffering 
and wrong. The whole can be explained on a more charitable, 
and, as I think, a more rational hypothesis. 

We are in civil war. In such cases there always is a main 
question ; but in this case that question is a perplexing com- 
pound — Union and Slavery. It thus becomes a question not of 
two sides merely, but of at least four sides, even among those 
who are for the Union, saying nothing of those who are against 
it. Thus, those who are for the Union icith, but not witlwut 
slavery — ^those for it witliout but not with — those for it with or 
without, but prefer it with, and those for it with or without but 
prefer it without. 

Among these, again, is a subdivision of those who are for 
gradual, but not for immediate, and those who are for immediate^ 
but not for gradual extinction of slavery. 



THE martyr's monument. 225 

It is easy to conceive that all these shades of opinion and 
even more, may be sincerely entertained by honest and truthful 
men. Yet, all being for the Union, by reason of these differen- 
ces each will prefer a different way of sustaining the Union. 
At once, sincerity is questioned, and motives are assailed. Ac- 
tual war coming, blood grows hot, and blood is spilled- 
Thought is forced from old channels into confusion. Deception 
breeds and thrives. Confidence dies, and universal suspicion 
reigns. Each man feels an impulse to kill his neighbor, lest he 
be killed by him. Revenge and retaliation follow. And all 
this, as before said, may be among honest men only. But this 
is not all. Every foul bird comes abroad, and every dirty rep- 
tile rises up. These add crime to confusion. Strong measures 
deemed indispensable but harsh at best, such men make Aorse 
by maladministration. Murders for old grudges, and murders 
for iDelf proceed under any cloak that will best serve for the 
occasion. 

These causes amply account for what has occurred in Missouri, 
without ascribing it to the weakness or wickedness of any gen- 
eral. The newspaper files, those chroniclers of current events, 
will show that the evils now comjilained of, were quite as prev- 
alent under Fremont, Hunter, Halleck, and Curtis, as under 
Schofield. If the former had greater force opposed to them, 
they also had greater force with which to meet it. When the 
organized rebel army left the State, the main Federal force had 
to go also, leaving the Department commander at home, rela- 
tively no stronger than before. Without disparaging any, I 
afl^m with confidence, that no commander of that Department 
has, in proportion to his means, done better than General Scho- 
field. 

The first specific charge against General Schofield is, that the 
enrolled militia was placed under his command, whereas it had 
not been placed under the command of General Curtis. The 
fact is, I believe, true ; but you do not point out, nor can I con- 
ceive how that did, or could, injure loyal men or the Union 
cause. 

You charge that General Curtis being superseded by General 
Schofield, Franklin A. Dick was superseded by James O. Broad 



226 THE martyr's monument. 

head as Provost-Marslial General. No very specific showing is 
made as to how this did or could injure the Union cause. It 
recalls, however, the condition of things, as presented to mc, 
which led to a change of commander of that Department. 

To restrain contraband intelligence and trade, a system of 
searches, seizures, permits and passes, had been introduced, I 
think, by General Fremont. When General Halleck came, he 
found and continued the system, and added an order, appli- 
cable to some parts of the State, to levy and collect contri- 
butions from noted rebels, to comj^ensate losses, and relieve des- 
titution caused by the rebellion. The action of General Fremont 
and General Halleck, as stated, constituted a sort of system 
which General Curtis found in full operation when he took 
command of the Department. That there was a necessity for 
something of the sort was clear ; but that it could only be jus- 
tified by stern necessity, and that it was liable to great abuse in 
administration, was equally clear. Agents to execute it, con- 
trary to the great prayer, w^ere led into temptation. Some 
might, while others would not resist that temptation. It was 
not possible to hold any to a very strict accountability; and 
those yielding to the temptation, would sell permits and passes 
to those who would pay most, and most readily for them ; and 
would seize property and collect levies in the aptest way to 
fill their own pockets. Money being the object, the man hav- 
ing money, whether loyal or disloyal, would be a victim. This 
practice doubtless existed to some extent, and it was a real 
additional evil, that it could be, and was plausibly charged to 
exist in greater extent than it did. 

When General Curtis took command of the Department, Mr. 
Dick, against whom I never knew anything to allege, had gen- 
eral charge of this system. A controversy in regard to it rap- 
idly grew into almost unmanageable proportions. One side 
ignored the necessity and magnified the evils of the system, while 
the other ignored the evils and magnified the necessity ; and 
each bitterly assailed the other. I could not fail to see that the 
controversy enlarged in the same proportion as the professed 
Union men there distinctly took sides in two opposing political 
parties. I exhausted my wits, and very nearly my patience 



22T 



also, in efforts to convince both that the evils they charged on 
each other were inherent in the case, and could not be cured by 
giving either party a victory over the other. 

Plainly, the irritating system was not to be perpetual ; and it 
was plausibly urged that it could be modified at once with advan- 
tage. The case could scarcely be worse, and whether it could be 
made better could only be detennined by a trial. In this view, 
and not to ban, or brand General Curtis, or to give a victory to 
any party, I made the change of commander for the Department. 
I now learn that soon after this change Mr. Dick was removed, 
and that Mr. Brodhead, a gentleman of no less good character, 
was put in the place. The mere fact of this change is more 
distinctly complained of than is any conduct of the new officer, 
or other consequence of the change. 

I gave the new commander no instructions as to the adminis- 
tration of the system mentioned, beyond what is contained in 
the private letter afterward surreptitiously published, in which 
I directed him to act solely for the public good, and independ- 
ently of both parties. Neither anything you have presented 
me, nor anything I have otherwise learned, has convinced me 
that he has been unfaithful to this charge. 

Imbecility is urged as one cause for removing General Scho- 
field, and the late massacre at Lawrence, Kansas, is pressed as 
evidence of that imbecility. To my mind that fact scarcely 
tends to prove the proposition. That massacre is only an ex- 
ample of what Grierson, John Morgan, and many others, might 
have repeatedly done on their respective raids, had they chosen 
to incur the personal hazard, and possessed the fiendish hearta 
to do it. 

The charge is made that General Schofield, on purpose to 
protect the Lawrence murderers, would not allow them to be 
pursued into jMissouri. While no punishment could be too 
sudden or too severe for those murderers, I am well satisfied 
that the preventing of the threatened remedial raid into JMis- 
souri was the only way to avoid an indiscriminate massacre 
there, including probably more innocent than guilty. Instead 
of condemning, I therefore approve what I understand General 
Schofield did in that respect. 



228 THE martyr's monument 

Tlie charge that General Schofield had lonrposely withheld 
protection from loyal jDeople, and purposely facilitated the 
objects of the disloyal, are altogether beyond my power of be- 
lief. I do not arraign the veracity of gentlemen as to the facts 
complained of; but I do more than question the judgment 
which would infer that these facts occurred in accordance with 
the purjioses of General Schofield. 

"With my present views, I must decline to remove General 
Schofield. In this I decide nothing against General Butler. I 
sincerely wish it were convenient to assign him a suitable com- 
mand. 

In order to meet some existing evils, I have addressed a letter 
of instruction to General Schofield, a copy of which I inclose 
to you. As to the " Enrolled Militia," I shall endeavor to 
ascertain, better than I now know, what is its exact value. Let 
me say now, however, that your proposal to substitute national 
force for the " Enrolled Militia," implies that, in your judgment, 
the latter is doing something which needs to be done ; and if 
so, the proposition to throw that force away, and to supply its 
place by bringing other forces from the field where they are 
urgently needed, seems to me very extraordinary. Whence 
shall they come? Shall they be withdrawn from Banks, or' 
Grant, or Steele, or Rosecrans ? 

Few things have been so grateful to my anxious feelings, as 
when, in June last, the local force in Missouri aided General 
Schofield to so promptly send a large general force to the relief 
of General Grant, then investing Vicksburg, and menaced from 
without by General Johnston. Was this all wrong ? Should 
the " enrolled militia" then have been broken up, and General 
Heron kept from Grant to police Missouri ? So far from finding 
cause to object, I confess to a sympathy for whatever relieves 
our general force in Missouri, and allows it to serve elsewhere. 

I therefore, as at present advised, cannot attempt the des- 
truction of the enrolled militia of Missouri. I may add, that 
the force being under the national military control, it is also 
within the proclamation with regard to the habeas corims. 

I concur in the propriety of your request in regard to elections, 
and have, as you see, directed General Schofield accordingly. 



THE martyr's monument. 229 

I do not feel justified to enter upon the broad field you present 
in regard to the political differences between Radicals and 
Conservatives. From time to time I have done and said what 
ai3peared to me proj^er to do and say. The public knows it 
well. It obliges nobody to follow me, and I trust it obliges me 
to follow nobody. The Radicals and Conservatives each agree 
with me in some things and disagree in others. I could wish 
both to agree with me in all things ; for then they would agree 
with each other, and w^ould be too strong for any foe from any 
quarter. They, however, choose to do otherw^ise, and I do not 
question their right. I, too, shall do what seems to be my duty. 
I hold whoever commands in Missouri or elsewhere responsible 
to me, and not to either Radicals or Conservatives. It is my 
duty to hear all ; but, at last, I must, within my sphere, judge 
what to do and what to forbear. 

Your obedient servant, A. LhsCGLn. 

THE CONGRESSIONAL SESSION OF 1863-4. 

Congress assembled in regular session on the 7th of 
December, 1863, and received from the President the 
following 

MESSAGE. 

Fellow- Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives: — 
Another year of health and of suflSciently abundant harvests 
has passed. For these, and especially for the improved condi- 
tion of our national affairs, our renewed and - profoundest 
gratitude to God is due. We remain in peace and friendship 
with foreign Powders. The efforts of disloyal citizens of the 
United States to involve us in foreign wars to aid an inexcusa- 
ble insurrection have been unavailing. Her Britannic Majesty's 
Government, as was justly exjDected, have exercised their 
authority to prevent the departure of new hostile expeditions 
from British ports. 

The Emperor of France has, by a like proceeding, promptly 
vindicated the neutrality which he proclaimed at the beginni agr 
of the contest. 



230 THE martyr's monument. 

Questions of great intricacy and importance have arisen out 
of the blockade, and other belligerent operations between the 
Government and several of the maritime Powers, but they 
have been discussed, and, as far as was possible, accommodated 
in a spirit of frankness, justice, and mutual good- will. 

It is especially gratifying that our prize courts, by the im- 
partiality of their adjudications, have commanded the respect 
and confidence of maritime Powers. 

The supplemental treaty between the United States and Great 
Britain for the suppression of the African Slave-trade, made on 
the 17th day of February last, has been duly ratified and car- 
ried into execution. It is believed that so far as American 
ports and American citizens are concerned, that inhuman and 
odious traffic has been brought to an end. 

Incidents occurring in the progress of our civil war have 
forced upon my attention the uncertain state of international 
questions touching the rights of foreigners in this country and 
of United States citizens abroad. 

In regard to some governments, these rights are at least 
partially defined by treaties. In no instance, however, is it 
expressly stipulated that in the event of civil war a foreigner 
residing in this country, within the lines of the insurgents, is 
to be exempted from the rule which classes him as a belligerent, 
in whose behalf the government of his country cannot expect 
any privileges or immunities distinct from that character. I 
regret to say, however, that such claims have been put forward, 
and, in some instances, in behalf of foreigners who have lived 
in the United States the greater part of their lives. 

There is reason to believe that many persons born in foreign 
countries, who have declared their intention to become citizens, 
or who have been fully naturalized, have evaded the military 
duty required of them by denying the fact, and thereby throw- 
ing upon the Government the burden of proof It has been 
found difficult or impracticable to obtain this proof, from the 
want of guides to the proper sources of information. These 
might be supplied by requiring Clerks of Courts, where decla- 
rations of intention may be made, or naturalizations effected, to 



THE martyr's monument. 231 

send periodically lists of the names of the persons naturalized 
or declaring their intention to become citizens, to the Secretary 
of the Interior, in whose Department those names might be 
arranged and printed for general information. There is also 
reason to believe that foreigners frequently become citizens of 
the United States for the sole purpose of evading duties im- 
posed by the laws of their native countries, to which, on 
becoming naturalized here, they at once repair, and though 
never returning to the United States, they still claim the inter- 
position of this Government as citizens. 

Many altercations and great prejudices have heretofore arisen 
out of this abuse. It is, therefore, submitted to your serious 
consideration. It might be advisable to fix a limit beyond 
which no citizen of the United States residing abroad may claim 
the interposition of his Government. 

The right of suffrage has often been assumed and exercised 
by aliens under pretences of naturalization, which they have 
disavowed when drafted into the military service. 

Our ministers abroad have been faithful in defending Amer- 
ican rights. In protecting commercial interests, our consuls 
have necessarily had to encounter increased labels and respon- 
sibilities grooving out of the war. These they have, for the 
most part, met and discharged with zeal and efficiency. This 
acknowledgment justly includes those consuls who, residing in 
Morocco, Egypt, Turkey, Japan, China, and other Oriental 
countries, are charged with complex functions and extraordi- 
nary powers. 

The condition of the several organized territories is generally 
satisfactory, although Indian distubances in New Mexico have 
not been entirely suppressed. 

The mineral resources of Colorado, Nevada, Idaho, New Mex- 
ico, and Arizona, are proving far richer than has been hereto- 
fore understood. I lay before you a communication on this 
subject from the Goveraor of New Mexico. I again submit to 
your consideration the expediency of establishing a system for 
the encouragement of emigration. Although this source of na- 
tional wealth and strength is again flowing with greater freedom 
than for several years before the insurrection occurred, there is 



232 THE martyr's monument. 

still a great deficiency of laborers in every field of industry, 
especially in agriculture and in our mines, as well of iron and 
coal as of tlie precious metals. While the demand for labor is 
thus increased here, tens of thousands of persons, destitute of 
remunerative occupation, are thronging our foreign consulates, 
and offering to emigrate to the United States, if essential, but 
very cheap assistance can be afforded them. It is easy to see 
that under the sharp discipline of civil war the nation is begin- 
ning a new life. This noble effort demands the aid, and ought 
to receive the attention and support of the Government. 

Injuries unforeseen by the Grovernment, and unintended, may 
in some cases have been inflicted on the subjects or citizens of 
foreign countries, both at sea and on land, by persons in the 
service of the United States. As this Government expects re- 
dress from other Powers when similar injuries are inflicted by 
persons in their service upon citizens of the United States, we 
must be prepared to do justice to foreigners. If the existing 
judicial tribunals are inadequate to this jourpose, a special 
Court may be authorized, with power to hear and decide such 
claims of the character referred to as may have arisen under 
treaties and ^he public law. Conventions for adjusting thq 
claims by joint commission have been proposed to some Gov- 
ernments, but no definite answer to the proposition has yet 
been received from any. 

In the course of the session I shall probably have occasion to 
request you to provide indemnification to claimants where de- 
crees of restitution have been rendered, and damages awarded 
by Admiralty Courts, and in other cases, where this Govern- 
ment may be acknowledged to be liable in principle, and where 
the amount of that liability has been ascertained by an informal 
arbitration, the proper officers of the Treasury have deemed 
themselves required by the law of the United States upon the 
subject, to demand a tax upon the incomes of foreign consuls in 
this country. While such a demand may not, in strictness, be in 
derogation of public law, or perhaps of any existing treaty between 
the United States and a foreign country, the expediency of so 
far modifying the act as to exemiDt from tax the income of such 
consuls as are no'^ ..luzens of the United States, derived from 



THE martyr's monument. 233 

the emoluments of their office, or from property not situate in 
the United States, is submitted to your serious consideration. 
I make this suggestion upon the ground that a comity which 
ought to be reciprocated exempts our consuls in all other coun- 
tries from taxation to the extent thus indicated. The United 
States, I think, ought not to be exceptionally illiberal to inter- 
national trade and commerce. 

The operations of the treasury during the last year have been 
successfully conducted. The enactment by Congress of a Na- 
tional Banking Law has proved a valuable support of the pub- 
lic credit, and the general legislation in relation to loans has 
fully answered the expectation of its favorers. Some amend- 
ment may be required to perfect existing laws, but no change in 
their j^rinciples or general scope is believed to be needed. Since 
these measures have been in operation, all demands on the Treas- 
urj^, includuig the pay of the Army and Navj^, have been 
promptly met and fully satisfied. No considerable body of 
troops, it is believed, were ever more amply provided and more 
liberally and punctually paid ; and, it may be added, that by 
no people were the burthens incident to a great war more cheer- 
fully borne. 

The receipts during the year, from all sources, including 
loans and the balance in the Treasury at its commencement, 
were $901,125,674 86, and the aggregate disbursements $895,- 
796,630 65, leaving a balance on the 1st of July, 1863, of $5,329,- 
044 21. Of the receipts, there were derived from Customs, 
$69,059,642 40 ; from Internal Revenue, $37,640,787 95 ; from 
direct tax, $1,485,103 61 ; from lands, $167,617 17 ; from mis- 
cellaneous sources, $3,046,615 35 ; and from loans, $776,682,- 
361 57, making the aggregate, $901,125,674 86. Of the dis- 
bursements there were for the civil service, $23,253,922 08 ; for 
pensions and Indians, $4,216,520 79; for interest on public 
debt, $24,729,846 51 ; for the War Department, $590,298,600 83 ; 
for the Navy Department, $63,211,105 27; for payment of 
funded and temporary debt, $181,086,635 07, making the 
aggregate $895,796,630 65, and leaving the balance of 
$5,329,044 21. 

But the payment of the funded and .temporary debt, having 



234 THE martyr's monument. 

been made from moneys borrowed during the year, must be 
regarded as merely nominal payments, and the moneys bor- 
rowed to make them as merely nominal receipts; and their 
amount, $181,086,535 07, should therefore be deducted both 
from receipts and disbursements. This being done, there remains 
as actual receipts, $720,039,039 79, and the actual disburse- 
ments, $714,709,995 58, leaving the balance as already stated. 

The actual receipts and disbursements for the first quarter, 
and the estimated receipts and disbursements for the remaining 
three quarters of the current fiscal year, 1864, will be shown in 
detail by the report of the Secretary of the Treasury, to which 
I invite your attention. 

It is sufficient to say here, that it is not believed that actual 
results will exhibit a state of the finances less favorable to the 
country than the estimates of that officer heretofore submitted, 
while it is confidently expected that, at the close of the year, 
both disbursements and debt will be found very considerably 
less than has been anticipated. 

The report of the Secretary of War is a document of great 
interest. It consists of: 

First. — The military operations of the year detailed in the 
report of the General-in-Chief. 

Second. — The organization of colored persons into the war 
service. 

Third. — The exchange of prisoners fully set forth in the let* 
ter of General Hitchcock. 

Fourth. — The operations under the act for enrolling and call- 
ing out the National forces, detailed in the report of the Provost- 
Marshal General. 

Fifth. — The organization of the Invalid Corps. And — 

Sixth. — The operations of the several departments of the 
Quartermaster-General, Commissary-General, Paymaster-Gen- 
eral, Chief of Engineers, Chief of Ordnance, and Surgeon-Gen- 
eral. It has appeared impossible to make a valuable summary 
of this report, except such as would be too extended for this 
place, and hence I content myself by asking your careful atten- 
tion to the report itself. The duties devolving on the naval 
branch of the service, during the year, and throughout the 



THE martyr's monument. 235 

wTiole of this unhappy contest, have been discharged with 
fidelity and eminent success. The extensive blockade has been 
constantly increasing in efficiency, as the navy has expanded, 
yet on so long a line it has, so far, been impossible entirely to sup- 
press illicit trade. From returns received at the Navy Department, 
it appears that more than one thousand vessels have been cap- 
tured since the blockade was instituted, and that the value of 
prizes already sent in for adjudication, amounts to over thirteen 
millions of dollars. 

The naval force of the United States consists at this time of 
five hundred and eighty-eight vessels completed and in course 
of completion, and of these seventy-five are iron-clad or 
armored steamers. The events of the war give an increased 
interest and imi3ortance to the navy, which will probably extend 
beyond the war itself. The armored vessels in our navy, com- 
pleted and in service, or which are under contract and ap- 
proaching completion, are believed to exceed in number those 
of any other Power ; but while these may be relied upon for 
harbor defence and coast service, others of greater strength and 
capacity will be. necessary for cruising purposes, and to main- 
tain our rightful position on the ocean. 

The change that has taken place in naval vessels and naval 
warfare since the introduction of steam as a motive power for 
ships of war, demands either a corresponding change in some 
of our existing navy-yards, or the establishment of new ones, 
for the construction and necessary rejjair of modern naval ves- 
sels. No inconsiderable embarrassment, delay, and public injury 
have been experienced from the want of such governmental 
establishments. 

The necessity of such a navy-yard, so furnished, at some 
suitable place upon the Atlantic seaboard, has, on repeated 
occasions, been brought to the attention of Congress by the 
Navy Department, and is again presented in the report of the 
Secretary, which accompanies this communication. I think it 
my duty to invite your special attention to this subject, and 
also to that of establishing a yard and depot for naval pur- 
poses upon one of the western rivers. A naval force has been 
created upon these interior waters, and under many disadvan- 



236 THE martyr's monument. 

tages, within a little more than two years, exceeding in number 
the whole naval force of the country at the commencement of 
the present Administration. Satisfactory and important as have 
been the perfomiaiices of the heroic men of the navy at this 
interesting period, they are scarcely more wonderful than the 
success of our mechanics and artisans in the production of war- 
vessels, which has created a new form of naval power. 

Our country has advantages superior to any other nation in 
our resources of iron and timber, with inexhaustible quantities 
of fuel in the immediate vicinity of both, and all available and 
in close j)roximity to navigable waters. AYithout the advantage 
of public works, the resources of the nation have been devel- 
oped, and its power displayed, in the construction of a navy of 
such riiagnitude, which has at the very period of its creation 
rendered signal service to the Union. 

The increase of the numljer of seamen in the public service 
from 7,500 men m the Spring of 1861, to about 34,000 at the 
present time, has been accomplished without sj^ecial legislation 
or extraordinary bounties to promote that increase. It has 
been found, however, that the operation of the draft, with the 
high bounties paid for army recruits, is beginning to affect 
injuriously the naval service, and will, if not corrected, be likely 
to impair its efficiency by detaching seamen from their proj)er 
vocation, and inducing them to enter the army. I therefore 
respectfully suggest that Congress might aid both the army and 
naval service by a definite provision on this subject, which would 
at the same time be equitable to the communities more esj)e- 
cially interested. 

I commend to your consideration the suggestions of the Sec- 
retary of the Navy, in regard to the policy of fostering and 
training seamen, and also the education of officers and engi- 
neers for the naval service. The Naval Academy has rendered 
signal service in preparing midshipmen for the highly responsi- 
ble duties which in after life they will be required to jperform. 
In order that the country should not be deprived of the proper 
quota of educated officers, for which legal provision has been 
made at the naval school, the vacancies caused by the neglect 
or omission to make nominations from the States in insurrec- 



THE martyr's monument. 237 

tion, have been filled by the Secretary of the Navy, Thd 
school is now more full and complete than at any former 
period, and in every respect entitled to the favorable considera- 
tion of Congress. 

******** 
The quantity of land disposed of during the last, and first 
quarter of the present, fiscal years, was three millions, eight hun- 
dred and forty-one thousand, five hundred and forty-nine acres, 
of which one hundred and sixty-one thousand, nine hundred 
and eleven acres were sold for cash. One million, four hundred 
and fifty-six thousand, five hundred and fourteen acres, were 
taken up under the Homestead Law, and the residue disposed 
of under laws granting lands for military bounties, for railroad 
and other j)urposes. It also appears that the sale of public 
lands is largely on the increase. 

It has long been a cherished opinion of some of our wisest 
statesmen that the people of the United States had a higher 
and more enduring interest in the early settlement and substan- 
tial cultivation of the jjublic lands than in the amount of direct 
revenue to be derived from the sale of them. This opinion has 
had a controlling influence in shaping legislation upon the sub- 
ject of our national domain. I may cite, as evidence of this, 
the liberal measures adopted in reference to actual settlers, the 
grant to the States of the overflowed lands within their limits, 
m order to their being reclaimed and rendered fit for culti- 
vation, the grants to railroad companies of alternate sections 
of land upon the contemplated lines of their roads, which, 
when completed, will so largely multiply the facilities for 
reaching our distant possessions. This policy has received 
its most signal and beneficent illustration in the recent enact- 
ment granting homesteads to actual settlers. Since the first 
day of January last the before mentioned quantity of one 
million, four hundred and fifty-six thousand, five hundred 
and fourteen acres of land have been taken up under its 
provisions. This fact, and the amount of sales, furnish grati- 
fying evidence of increasing settlement upon the public lands, 
notwithstanding the great struggle in which the energies of 
the nation have been engaged, and which has required so large 



238 THE martyr's monument. 

,a withdrawal of our citizens from their accustomed pursuits. 
I cordially concur in the recommendation of the Secretary of 
the Interior, suggesting a modification of the act in favor of 
those engaged in the military and naval service of the United 
States. 

I doubt not that Congress will cheerfully adopt such measures 
as will, without essentially changing the general features of the 
system, secure to the greatest practical extent its benefits to 
those who have left their homes in defence of the country in this 
arduous crisis. 

I invite your attention to the views of the Secretary as to the 
propriety of raising, by appropriate legislation, a revenue from 
the mineral lands of the United States. The measures provided 
at your last session for the removal of certain Indian tribes have 
been carried into effect. Sundry treaties have been negotiated, 
which will, in due time, be submitted for the constitutional 
action of the Senate. They contain stipulations for extinguish- 
ing the possessory rights of the Indians to large and valuable 
tracts of lands. It is hoped that the effect of these treaties will 
result in the establishment of permanent friendly relations with 
such of these tribes as have been brought into frequent and 
bloody collision with our outlying settlements and emigrants. 
Sound policy, and our imperative duty to these wards of the 
Government, demand our anxious and constant attention to 
their material well-being, to their progress in the arts of civili- 
zation, and above all, to that moral training which, under the 
blessing of Divine Providence, will confer upon them the elevated 
and sanctifying influences, the hopes and consolations of the 
Christian faith. I suggested, in my last Annual Message, the 
propriety of remodeling our Indian system. Subsequent events 
have satisfied me of its necessity. The details set forth in the 
report of the Secretary evince the urgent need for immediate 
legislative action. 

I commend the benevolent institutions, established or patron- 
ized by the Government in this District, to your generous and 
fostering care. 

The attention of Congress, during the last session, was engaged 
to some extent with a proposition for enlarging the water coi^ 



THE martyr's monument. 239 

munication between the Mississippi River and the northeastern 
seaboard, which proposition, however, failed for the time. Since 
then, upon a call of the greatest respectability, a Convention has 
been held at Chicago upon the same subject, a summary of 
whose views is contained in a memorial address to the President 
and Congress, and which I now have the honor to lay before 
you. That the interest is one which will ere long force its own 
way I do not entertain a doubt, while it is submitted entirely to 
your wisdom as to what can be done now. Augmented interest 
is given to this subject by the actual commencement of work 
upon the Pacific railroad, under auspices so favorable to rapid 
progress and completion. The enlarged navigation becomes a 
palpable need to the great road, 

I transmit the second annual report of the Commissioners ol 
the Department of Agriculture, asking your attention to the 
developments in that vital interest of the nation. 

When Congress assembled a year ago, the war had already 
lasted nearly twenty months, and there had been many conflicts 
on both land and sea, with varying results ; the rebellion had 
been pressed back into reduced limits ; yet the tone of public 
feeling and opinion, at home and abroad, was not satisfactory. 
With other signs, the popular elections, then just past, indicated 
uneasiness among ourselves, while, amid much that was cold 
and menacing, the kindest words coming from Europe were 
uttered in accents of pity that we were too blind to surrender a 
hopeless cause. Our commerce was suffering greatly by a few 
vessels built upon and furnished from foreign shores, and we 
were threatened with such additions from the same quarters as 
would sweep our trade from the seas and raise our blockade. 
We had failed to elicit from European governments anything 
hopeful upon this subject. 

The preliminary Emancipation Proclamation issued in Sep- 
tember, was running its assigned period to the beginning of the 
new year. A month later, the final proclamation came, includ- 
ing the announcement that colored men of suitable condition 
would be received in the war service. The policy of emanci- 
pation and of employing black soldiers gave to the future a new 
aspect, about which hope, and fear, and doubt, contended in un- 



240 THE 

certain conflict. According to onr political system, as a matter 
of civil administration, the Government had no lawful power to 
ejQfect emancipation in any State, and for a long time it had been 
hoped that the rebellion could be suppressed without resorting 
to it as a military measure. It was all the while deemed possible 
that the necessity for it might come, and that if it should, the 
crisis of the contest would then be presented. It came, and, as 
was anticipated, was followed by dark and doubtful days. 

Eleven months having now passed, we are permitted to take 
another view. The rebel borders are pressed still further back, 
and by the complete opening of the Mississijjpi, the country 
dominated by the rebellion is divided into distinct parts with 
no practical communication between them. Tennessee and 
Arkansas have been substantially cleared of insurgent control, 
and influential citizens in each — owners of slaves and advocates 
of slavery at the beginning of the rebellion — now declare openly 
for emancipation in their respective States. Of those States not 
included in the Emancipation Proclamation, Maryland and 
Missouri, neither of which, three years ago, would tolerate any 
restraint upon the extension of slavery into new Territories, only 
dispute now as to the best mode of removing it within their 
own limits. 

Of those who were slaves at the beginning of the rebellion, 
full one hundred thousand are now in the United States military 
service, about one-half of which number actually bear arms in 
the ranks — thus giving the double advantage of taking so much 
labor from the insurgent cause and supplying the places which 
otherwise must be filled with so many white men. So far as 
tested, it is difiicult to say they are not as good soldiers as any. 
No servile insurrection or tendency to violence or cruelty has 
marked the measures of emancipation and arming the blacks. 
These measures have been much discussed in foreign countries, 
and cotemporary with such discussion, the tone of public senti- 
ment there is much improved. At home the same measures 
have been fully discussed, supported, criticised and denounced, 
and the annual elections following are highly encouraging to 
those whose oflSlcial duty it is to bear the country through 
this great trial. Thus we have the new reckonfng. The 



THE martyr's monument. 241 

crisis which threatened to divide the friends of the Union is 
past- 
Looking now to the present and future, and with a reference 
to a resumption of the national authority in the States wherein 
that authority has been suspended, I have thought fit to issue a 
proclamation — a copy of which is herewith transmitted. On 
examination of this proclamarion, it will appear, as is believed, 
that nothing is attempted beyond what is amply justified by the 
Constitution. True, the form of an oath is given, but no man 
is coerced to take it. The man is only promised a pardon in 
case he voluntarily takes the oath. The Constitution authorizes 
the Executive to grant or withdraw the pardon at his own abso- 
lute discretion, and this includes the power to grant on terms, 
as is fully established by judicial and other authorities. It is 
also proffered that if in any of the States named, a State Govern- 
ment shall be in the mode prescribed set up, such government 
shall be recognized and guaranteed by the United States, and 
that under it the State shall, on the constitutional conditions, 
be protected against invasion and domestic violence. 

The constitutional obligation of the United States to guaran- 
tee to every State in the Union a Republican form of Govern- 
ment, and to protect the State in the cases stated, is explicit and 
full. But why tender the benefits of this provision only to a State 
Government set up in this particular way ? This section of the 
Constitution contemplates a case wherein the element within a 
State favorable to Republican government in the Union may be 
too feeble for an opposite and hostile element external to or 
even within the State, and such are precisely the cases with 
which we are now dealing. 

An attempt to guarantee and protect a revived State Govern- 
ment, constructed in whole or in preponderating part from the 
very element against whose hostility and violence it is to be 
protected, is simply absurd. There must be a test by which to 
separate the opposing elements, so as to build only from the 
sound ; and that test is a sufllciently liberal one which accepts 
as sound whoever will make a sworn recantation of his former 
unsoundness. 

But if it be proper to require, as a test of admission to th^ 
11 



242 THE martyr's monument. 

political body, an oath of allegiance to the Constitution of the 
United States and to the Union under it, why also to the laws 
and proclamations in regard to slavery ? 

Those laws and proclamations were enacted and put forth for 
the purpose of aiding in the suppression of the rebellion. To 
give them their fullest effect there had to be a pledge for their 
maintenance. In my judgment they have aided and will further 
aid the cause for which they were intended. 

To now abandon them would be not only to relinquish a lever 
of power, but would also be a cruel and an astounding breach 
of faith. 

I may add, at this point, that while I remain in my present 
position, I shall not attempt to retract or modify the Emancipa- 
tion Proclamation, nor shall I return to slavery any person who 
is free by the terms of that proclamation, or by any of the acts 
of Congress. 

For these and other reasons, it is thought best that support 
of these measures shall be included in the oath, and it is be- 
lieved that the Executive may lawfully claim it in return for 
pardon and restoration of forfeited rights, which he has a clear 
constitutional power to withhold altogether or grant upon the 
terms which he shall deem wisest for the public interest. It 
should be observed, also, that this part of the oath is subject to 
the modifying and abrogating power of legislation and supreme 
judicial decision. 

The proposed acquiescence of the National Executive in any 
reasonable temporary State arrangement for the freed people, is 
made with the view of possibly modifying the confusion and 
destitution which must at best attend all classes by a total rev- 
olution of labor throughout whole States. It is hoped that the 
already deeply afflicted people in those States may be somewhat 
more ready to give up the cause of their affliction, if, to this 
extent, this vital matter be left to themselves, while no power of 
the National Executive to prevent an abuse is abridged by the 
proposition. 

The suggestion in the proclamation as to maintaining the 
political frame-work of the States on what is called reconstruc- 
tion, is made in the hope that it may do good, without danger 



THE martyr's monument. 243 

of harm. It will save labor, and avoid great confusion. But 
why any j)roclamation now upon this subject ? This question 
is beset with the conflicting views that the step might be de- 
layed too long, or be taken too soon. In some States the 
elements for resumption seem ready for action but remain inac- 
tive, apparently for want of a rallying point — a plan of action. 
Why shall A adopt the plan of B, rather than B that of A ? 
And if A and B should agree, how can they know but that the 
General Government here will reject their plan ? By the proc- 
lamation a plan is presented which may be accepted by them as 
a rallying point — and which they are assured in advance will 
not be rejected here. This may bring them to act sooner than 
they otherwise would. 

The objection to a premature presentation of a plan by the 
National Executive consists in the danger of committals on 
points which could be more safely left to further developments. 
Care has been taken to so shape the document as to avoid em- 
barrassments from this source. Saying that on certain terms 
certain classes will be pardoned with rights restored, it is not 
said that other classes or other terms will never be included. 
Saying that reconstruction will be accepted if presented in a 
specified way, it is not said it will never be accepted in any 
other way. The movements by State action for emancipation 
in several of the States not included in the Emancipation Proc- 
lamation are matters of profound gratulation. And while I do 
not repeat in detail w^hat I have heretofore so earnestly urged 
upon this subject, my general views and feelings remain un- 
changed ; and I trust that Congress will omit no fair oppor- 
tunity of aiding these important steps to the great consumma- 
tion. 

In the midst of other cares, however important, we must not 
lose sight of the fact that the war power is still our main reli- 
ance. To that power alone can we look for a time, to give con- 
fidence to the people in the contested regions, that the insur- 
gent power will not again overrun them. Until that confidence 
shall be established, little can be done anywhere for what is 
called reconstruction. Hence our chiefest care must still be 
directed to the army and navy, who have thus far borne their 



244 



harder part so nobly and well. And it may be esteemed for- 
tunate that in giving the greatest efficiency to these indispensa- 
ble arms, we do also honorably recognize the gallant men, from 
commander to sentinel, who compose them, and to whom, more 
than to others, the world must stand indebted for the home of 
freedom, disenthralled, regenerated, enlarged and perpetuated. 
(Signed) Abraham LmcoLN. 

December 8, 1863. 

To the Message was appended the following 

PROCLAMATION. 

Whereas^ In and by the Constitution of the United States, it 
is provided that the President shall have power to grant re- 
prieves and pardons for offences against the United States, ex- 
cept in cases of impeachment — and, whereas, a rebellion now 
exists, whereby the loyal State Governments of several States 
have for a long time been subverted, and many persons have 
committed and are now guilty of treason against the United 
States; and 

Whereas^ With reference to said rebellion and treason, laws 
have been enacted by Congress, declaring forfeitures and confis- 
cation of property and liberation of slaves, all upon terms and 
conditions therein stated, and also declaring that the President 
was thereby authorized at any time thereafter, by proclamation, 
to extend to persons who may have participated in the existing 
rebellion in any State or part thereof, pardon and amnesty, with 
such exceptions and at such times and on such conditions as he 
may deem expedient for the public welfare ; and 

Whereas, The Congressional declaration for limited and con- 
ditional pardon accords with the well established judicial expo- 
sition of the pardoning power ; and 

Whereas^ With reference to the said rebellion, the President 
of the United States has issued several proclamations with pro- 
visions in regard to the liberation of slaves ; and 

Whereas, It is now desired by some f)ersons heretofore en- 
gaged in said rebellion to resume their allegiance to the United 
States, and to reinaugurate loyal State Governments within and 
for their respective States ; therefore 



THE martyr's monument. 245 

I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do 
proclaim, declare, and make known to all persons who have 
directly or by implication jDarticipated in the existing rebellion, 
except as herein after excepted, that a full pardon is hereby 
granted to them and each of them, with restoration of all rights 
of property, except as to slaves, and in property cases where 
rights of third parties shall have intei*vened, and upon the con- 
dition that every such person shall take and subscribe an oath 
and thenceforward keep and maintain said oath inviolate, an 
oath which shall be registered for permanent preservation, and 
shall be of the tenor and effect following, to wit : 

" I, , do solemnly swear, in the presence of 

Almighty God, that I will henceforth faithfully support, pro- 
tect, and defend the Constitution of the United States and the 
Union of the States thereunder ; and that I will in like manner 
abide by and faithfully support all acts of Congress passed 
duiing the existing rebellion with reference to slaves, so long 
and so far as not repealed, modified, or held void by Congress 
or by decisions of the Supreme Court ; and that I will in like 
manner abide by and faithfully support all ^jroclamations of the 
President made during the existing rebellion having reference to 
slaves, so long and so far as not modified or declared void by 
decision of the Supreme Court. So help me God." 

The persons excepted from the benefits of the foregoing pro- 
visions are : All who are, or shall have been civil or diplomatic 
officers or agents of the so-called Confederate Government ; all 
"who have left judicial stations under the United States to aid 
the rebellion ; all who are or shall have been military or naval 
officers of said so-called Confederate Government, above the 
rank of Colonel in the army, or of Lieutenant in the na^'y ; all 
who left seats in the United States Congress to aid the rebel- 
lion ; all who resigned commissions in the army or navy of the 
United States, and afterward aided the rel^ellion ; and all w^lio 
have engaged in any way in treating colored persons, or white 
persons in charge of such, otherwise than lawfully as prisoners 
of war, and which persons may have been found in the United 
States service as soldiers, seamen, or any other capncity ; and I 
do further proclaim, declare, and make known that, whenever, 



246 THE martyr's monument. 

ill VLny of the States of Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, 
Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and 
North Carolina, a number of persons not less than one-tenth in 
number of the votes cast in such States at the Presidential 
election of the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred 
and sixty, each having taken the oath aforesaid, and not having 
since violated it, and being a qualified voter by the election law 
of the State existing immediately before the so-called act of 
Secession, and excluding all others, shall re-establish a State 
Government which shall be Republican, and in no wise contra- 
vening said oath, such shall be recognized as the true govern- 
ment of the State, and the State shall receive thereunder the 
benefits of the constitutional provision, which declares that 

"The United States shall guarantee to every State in this 
Union a Republican form of government, and shall protect each 
of them against invasion, and on application of the Legislature, 
or the Executive, when the Legislature cannot be convened, 
against domestic violence." 

And I do further proclaim, declare, and make known, that 
any provision which may be adopted by such State Government 
in relation to the freed people of such State, which shall 
recognize and declare their permanent freedom, provide for 
their education, and which may yet be consistent, as a tempo- 
rary arrangement, with their present condition as a laboring, 
landless, and homeless class, will not be objected to by the 
National Executive. 

And it is suggested as not improper, that, in constructing a 
loyal State Government in any State, the name of the State, the 
boundary, the subdivisions, the Constitution, and the general 
code of laws, as before the rebellion, be maintained, subject 
only to the modifications made necessary by the conditions 
herein before stated, and such others, if any, not contravening 
said conditions, and which may be deemed expedient by those 
framing the new State Government. To avoid misunderstand- 
ing, it may be proper to say that this proclamation, so far as it 
relates to State Government, has no reference to States wherein 
loyal State Governments have all the while been maintained ; 
and for the same reason it may be proper to further say, that 



TCHE martyr's monument. 247 

whether members sent to Congress from any State shall be admit- 
ted to seats, constitutionally rests exclusively with the respective 
Houses, and not to any extent with the Executive. And still 
further, that this proclamation is intended to present the people 
of the States wherein the national authority has been suspended, 
and loyal State Governments have been subverted, a mode in 
and by which the national authority and loyal State Gov- 
ernments may be re-established within said States, or in any 
of them. And, while the mode presented is the best the 
Executive can suggest with his present impressions, it must 
not be understood that no other possible mode would be 
acceptable. 

Given under my hand at the city of Washington, the eighth day 
of December, a.d. one thousand eight hundred and sixty- 
three, and of the independence of the United States of Amer- 
ica the eighty-eighth. 

By the President : Abbaham Lincoln. 

Wm. H. Seward, Secretary of State. 

RESTRAINTS UPON THE CLERGY. 

Clergymen and the representatives of clergymen, many 
on one side, and some on the other, complained of the 
restraints which, owing to the condition of the country, 
were placed upon them, sometimes by the Government, 
sometimes by the local authorities, and often by the very 
people to whom they sought to minister. The following 
letter, in reply to an appeal for the exercise of the Pres- 
ident's authority to restore the Rev. Dr. McPheeters, of 
St. Louis, to the pulpit, from which he had been excluded 
by General Curtis for teaching disloyalty, shows that Mr. 
Lincoln insisted only that clergymen, like all other citi- 
zens, should not use their influence for the support of the 
rebellion and the consequent destruction of the Gov- 
ernment. 



248 THE martyr's monument. 

Executive Mansion, Washington, Dec. 28, 1863. 

I have just looked over a petition signed by some three dozen 
citizens of St. Louis, and their accompanying letters, one by 
yourself, one by a Mr. Nathan Ranney, and one by a Mr. John 
D. Coalter, the whole relating to the Rev. Dr. McPheeters. The 
petition prays, in the name of justice and mercy, that I will 
restore Dr. McPheeters to all his ecclesiastical rights. 

This gives no intimation as to what ecclesiastical rights are 
withdrawn. Your letter states that Provost-Marshal Dick, 
about a ago, ordered the arrest of Dr. McPheeters, Pastor of 
the Vine Street Church, prohibited him from oflSciating, and 
placed the management of affairs of the church out of the 
control of the chosen trustees; and near the close you state 
that a certain course " would insure his release." Mr. Ranney 's 
letter says : " Dr. Samuel McPheeters is enjoying all the rights 
of a civilian, but cannot preach the gospel ! " Mr. Coalter, in 
his letter, asks : " Is it not a strange illustration of the condi- 
tion of things, that the question who shall be allowed to preach 
in a church in St. Louis shall be decided by the President of 
the United States ? " 

Now, all this sounds very strangely ; and, withal, a little as 
if you gentlemen, making the application, do not understand 
the case alike ; one affirming that his doctor is enjoying all the 
rights of a civilian, and another pointing out to me what will 
secure his release I On the 2d of January last, I wrote to Grene- 
ral Curtis in relation to Mr. Dick's order upon Dr. McPheeters ; 
and, as I suppose the doctor is enjoying all the rights of a 
civilian, I only quote that part of my letter which relates to 
the church. It was as follows: "But I must add that the 
United States Government must not, as by this order, under- 
take to run the churches. When an individual, in a church or 
out of it, becomes dangerous to the public interest, he must be 
checked ; but the churches, as such, must take care of them- 
selves. It will not do for the United States to appoint trustees, 
supervisors, or other agents for the churches." 

This letter going to General Curtis, then in command, I sup- 
posed, of course, it was obeyed, especially as I heard no further 
complaint from Doctor McPheeters or his friends for nearly an 



THE martyr's monument. 249 

entire year. I have never interferred, nor thought of interfer- 
ing, as to vrho shall or shall not preach in any church; nor 
have I knowingly or believingly tolerated any one else to inter- 
fere by my authority. If any one is so interfering by color of 
my authority, I would like to have it specifically made known 
Jto me. 

If, after all, what is now sought, is to have me put Doctor 
McPheeters back over the heads of a majority of his own con- 
gregation, that too, will be declined. I will not have control 
of any church or any side. A. Lincoln. 

EFFECT OP SO-CALLED SECESSION. 

In the following letter addressed by Mr. Lincoln to 
the editors of the North Amei^ican Review he gives his 
views upon the effect of secession ordinances upon State 
governments and individual citizens. 

Executive Mansion, Washington, Jan. 16, 1864. 

Messrs. Crosby <& Nichols : — Gentlemen — The number for this 
month and year of the North American Review was duly received, 
and for which please accept my thanks. Of course I am not 
the most impartial judge ; yet, with due allowance for this, I 
venture to hope that the article entitled ' The President's Policy,' 
will be of value to the country. I fear I am not worthy of all 
which is therein kindly said of me personally. 

" The sentence of twelve lines, commencing at the top of 
page 252, I could wish to'be not exactly what it is. In what 
is there expressed the writer has not correctly understood me. 
I have never had a theory that secession could absolve States or 
people from their obligations. Precisely the contrary is asserted 
ill the inaugural address ; and it was because of my belief in 
the continuation of those obligations that I was 23uzzled for a 
time, as to denying the legal rights of those citizens who re- 
mained individually innocent of treason or rebellion. But I 
mean no more now than to merely call attention to this point. 
Yours respectfully, A. Lincoln." 

11* 



250 THE martyr's monument. 

REORGANIZATION IN ARKANSAS. 

In spite of the position of Arkansas, lying as it does 
west of the Mississippi and between Texas and Missouri, 
there was from the beginning not only a strong Union 
party in that State, but it was bolder and more outspol^en 
and active than was the case under similar circumstances 
in the eastern Slave States. In the w^inter of 1863-4 
efforts were made by the loyal men of the State to 
reorganize its government and bring it again under the 
national authority. These efforts elicited the following 
letters from Mr. Lincoln : 

ExECUTivB Mansion, Washington, Jan. 20, 1864. 
Ma^or- General Steele — Sundry citizens of the State of Arkan- 
sas petition me that an election may be held in that State, at 
which to elect a governor ; that it be assumed at that election 
and thenceforward, that the Constitution and laws of the State, 
as before the rebellion, are in full force, except that the ConstL 
tution is so modified as to declare that there shall be neither 
slavery nor involuntary servitude, except in the punishment of 
crimes whereof the party shall have been duly convicted ; that 
the General Assembly may make such provisions for the freed 
people as shall recognize and declare their permanent freedom, 
and provide for their education, and which may yet be con- 
strued as a temporary arrangement suitable to their condition 
as a laboring, landless, and homeless class; that said election 
shall be held on the 28th of March, 1864, at all the usual places 
of the State, or all such as voters may attend for that purpose; 
that the voters attending at 8 o'clock in the morning of said 
day may choose judges and clerks of election for such purpose; 
that all persons qualified by said Constitution and laws, and 
taking tha oath presented in the President's proclamation ot 
December 8, 1863, either before or at the election, and none 
others, may be voters ; that each set of judges and clerks may 

make returns directly, to you on or before the — th day of 

next ; that in all other respects said election may be conducted 



THE martyr's monument. 251 

according to said Constitution and laws; that on receipt of 
said returns, when. 5,406 votes shall have been cast, you can 
receive said votes and ascertain all who shall thereby appear to 

have been elected ; that on the — th day of next, all 

persons so appearing to have been elected, who shall appear 
before you at Little Rock, and take the oath, to be by you 
severally administered, to support the Constitution of the 
United States, and said modified Constitution of the State of 
Arkansas, may be declared by you qualified and empowered to 
immediately enter upon the duties of the offices to which they 
shall have been respectively elected. 

You will please order an election to take place on the 28th 
of March, 1864, and returns to be made in fifteen days there- 
after. A. Lincoln. 

To William Fishback. — Wlien I fixed a plan for an election in 
Arkansas, I did it in ignorance that your convention was at the 
same work. Since I learned the latter fact, I have been con- 
stantly trying to yield my plan to theirs. I have sent two let- 
ters to General Steele, and three or four dispatches to you and 
others, saying that he (General Steele) must be master, but that 
it will probably be best for him to keep the convention on its 
own plan. Some single mind must be master, else there will be 
no agreement on anything; and General Steele, commanding 
the military and being on the ground, is the best man to be that 
master. Even now citizens are telegraphing me to postpone 
the election to a later day than either fixed by the convention 
or me. This discord must be silenced. A. Lincoln. 

THE SANITARY AND CHRISTIAN COMMISSIONS. 

The following letters may well be grouped together 
here without regard to that chronological order which has 
been preserved elsewhere throughout this volume. They 
express the feelings with which Mr. Lincoln regarded the 
efforts made by those who were cooperating with the San- 
itary and Christian Commissions. 



252 THE martyr's monument. 

AT THE FAIR IN WASHINGTON IN AID OF THE SANITARY 
COMMISSION, MARCH 16, 1864. 

Ladies and Omtlemm : — I appear to say but a word. This 
extraordinary war in whicli we are engaged falls heavily upon 
all classes of people, but the most heavily upon the soldier. 
For it has been said, all that a man hath will he give for his 
life; and while all contribute of their substance, the soldier 
puts his life at stake, and often yields it up in his country's 
cause. The highest merit, then, is due to the soldier. 

In this extraordinary war, extraordinary developments have 
manifested themselves, such as have not been seen in former 
wars J and among these manifestations nothing has been more 
remarkable than these fairs for the relief of suffering soldiers 
and their families. And the chief agents in these fairs are the 
women of America. 

I am not accustomed to the use of language of eulogy ; I have 
never studied the art of paying compliments to women ; but I 
must say, that if all that has been said by orators and poets 
since the creation of the world in praise of women were applied 
to the women of America, it would not do them justice for their 
conduct during this war. I will close by saying, God bless the 
women of America ! 



COMMISSION, APRIL 18, 1864. 

Ladies and Gentlemen : — Calling to mind that we are iji Bal- 
timore, we cannot fail to note that the w^orld moves. Looking 
upon these many people assembled here to serve, as they best 
may, the soldiers of the Union, it occurs at once that three years 
ago the same soldiers could not so much as pass through Balti- 
more. The change from then till now is both great and grati- 
fying. Blessings on the brave men who have wrought the 
change, and the fair women who strive to reward them for it. 

But Baltimore suggests more than could happen within Bal- 
timore. The change within Baltimore is part only of a far wider 
change. When the war began, three years ago, neither party, 



THE martyr's monument. 253 

nor any man, expected it would last till now. Each looked for 
the end, in some way, long ere to-day. Neither did any antici- 
pate that domestic slavery would be much affected by the war. 
But here we are ; the war has not ended, and slavery has been 
much affected — how much needs not now to be recounted. So 

r 

true it is that man proposes and God disposes. 

But we can see the past, though we may not claim to have 
directed it ; and seeing it, in this case, we feel more hopeful and 
confident for the future. 

The world has never had a good definition of the word lib- 
erty, and the American people, just now, are much in want of 
one. We all declare for liberty ; but in using the same word 
we do not all mean the same thing. With some the word liberty 
may mean for each man to do as he pleases with himself, and 
the product of his labor ; while with others the same word may 
mean for some men to do as they please with other men, and the 
product of other men's labor. Here are two, not only difierent, 
but incompatible things, called by the same name, liberty. 
And it follows that each of the things is, by the resj)ective par- 
ties, called by two different and incompatible names — liberty 
and tyranny. 

The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep's throat, for 
which the sheei^ thanks the shepherd as a liherator., while the 
wolf denounces him for the same act, as the destroyer of liberty, 
especially as the sheep was a black one. Plainly, the sheep and 
the wolf are not agreed upon a definition of the word liberty i 
and precisely the same difierence prevails to-day among us hu- 
man creatures, even in the North, and all professing to love lib- 
erty. Hence we behold the process by which thousands are daily 
passing from under the yoke of bondage hailed by some as the 
advance of liberty, and bewailed by others as the destruction of 
all liberty. Recently, as it seems, the people of Maryland have 
been doing something to define liberty; and thanks to them 
that, in what they have done, the wolf's dictionary has been 
repudiated. 

It is not very becoming for one in my position to make 
speeches at great length; but there is another subject upon 
which I feel that I ought to say a word. A painful rumor, 



254 THE martyr's monument. 

true, I fear, has reached us of the massacre, by the rebel forces 
at Fort Pillow, in the west end of Tennessee, on the Mississippi 
River, of some three hundred colored soldiers and white officers, 
who had just been overpowered by their assailants. There 
seems to be some anxiety in the public mind whether the Gov- 
ernment is doing its duty to the colored soldier, and to the ser- 
vice at this point. At the beginning of the war, and for some 
time, the use of colored troops was not contemplated ; and how 
the change of purpose was wrought I will not now take time to 
explain. Upon a clear conviction of duty, I resolved to turn 
that element of strength to account ; and I am responsible for it 
to the American people, to the Christian world, to history, and 
on my final account to God. Having determined to use the 
negro as a soldier, there is no way but to give him all the pro- 
tection given to any other soldier. The difficulty is not in stat- 
ing the principle, but in practically applying it. It is a mistake 
to suppose the Government is indiflferent to this matter, or is 
not doing the best it can in regard to it. We do not to-day 
Tcnow that a colored soldier, or white officer commanding colored 
soldiers has been massacred by the rebels when made a prisoner. 
We fear it, believe it, I may say, but we do not hnow it. To 
take the life of one of their prisoners on the assumption that 
they murder ours-, when it is short of certainty that they do 
murder ours, might be too serious, too cruel a mistake. We 
are having the Fort Pillow affair thoroughly investigated ; and 
such investigation will probably show conclusively how the 
truth is. If, after all that has been said, it shall turn out that 
there has been no massacre at Fort Pillow, it will be almost safe 
to say there has been none, and will be none elsewhere. If there 
has been the massacre of three hundred there, or even the tenth 
part of three hundred, it will be conclusively proven ; and being 
so proven, the retribution shall as surely come. It will be a 
matter of grave consideration in what exact course to apply the 
retribution ; but in the supposed case it must come. 

THE WORKINGMEN'S ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK. 

This Association elected Mr. Lincoln one of its hon- 
orary members, and on the 21st of March, 1864, a com- 



255 



mittee of the Association presented to him an address 
setting forth the objects of the association, and requesting 
him to accept the membership. He replied as follows : 

OentUmen of the Committee — The nonorary membersliip in 
your association, as generously tendered, is gratefully accepted. 

You comprehend, as your addi-ess shows, that the existing 
rebellion means more and tends to do more than the perpetua- 
ation of African slavery — that it is, in fact, a war upon the 
rights of all working people. Partly to show that this view had 
not escaped my attention, and partly that I cannot better express 
myself, I read a passage from the message to Congress in De- 
cember, 1861 : 

" It continues to develop that the insurrection is largely, if 
not exclusively, a war upon the first principle of popular gov- 
ernment, the rights of the people. Conclusive evidence of this 
is found in the most grave and maturely considered public doc- 
uments, as well as in the general tone of the insurgents. In 
those documents we find the abridgment of the existing right 
of suffrage, and the denial to the people of all right to partici- 
pate in the selection of public officers, except the legislative, 
boldly advocated, with labored argument to prove that large 
control of the people in government is the source of all political 
evil. Monarchy itself is sometimes hinted at as a possible refuge 
from the power of the people. 

"In my present position I could scarcely be justified were I 
to omit raising a warning voice against this aj^p roach of return- 
ing despotism. 

" It is not needed, nor fitting here, that a general argument 
should be made in favor of popular institutions ; but there is 
one point with its connections, not so hackneyed as most others, 
to which I ask a brief attention. It is the effort to place capital 
on an equal footing, if not above lobar, in the structure of gov- 
ernment. It is assumed that labor is available only in coimec- 
tion with capital ; that nobody labors unless somebody else, 
owning capital, somehow by the use of it induces him to labor. 
This assumed, it is next considered whether it is best that cap- 
ital shall hire laborers, and thus induce them to work by their 



256 THE 

own consent, or hiy them, and drive them to it without their 
consent. Having proceeded so far, it is naturally concluded 
that all laborers are either hired laborers, or what we call slaves. 
And, further, it is assumed that whoever is once a hired laborer, 
is fixed in that condition for life. Now there is no such rela- 
tion between capital and labor as assumed, nor is there any such 
thing as a free man being fixed for life in the condition of a hired 
laborer. Both these assumptions are false, and all inferences 
from them are groundless. 

" Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is 
only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor 
had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and de- 
serves much the higher consideration. Capital has its rights, 
which are as worthy of protection as any other rights., Nor is 
it denied that there is, and probably always will be, a relation 
between capital and labor ; producing mutual benefits. The 
error is in assuming that the whole labor of a community exists 
within that relation. A few men own capital, and that few 
avoid labor themselves, and, with their capital, hire or buy 
another few to labor for them. A large majority belong to nei- 
ther class — neither work for others, nor have others working for 
them. In most of the Southern States a majority of the whole 
people of all colors are neither slaves nor masters ; while in the 
Northern, a large majority are neither hirers nor hired. Men 
with their families — wives, sons, and daughters — work for them- 
selves, on their farms, in their houses, and in their shops, taking 
the whole product to themselves, and asking no favors of cap- 
ital on the one hand nor of hired laborers or slaves on the other. 
It is not forgotten that a considerable number of persons mingle 
their own labor with capital ; that is, they labor with their own 
hands, and also buy or hire others to labor for them, but this is 
only a mixed and not a distinct class. No principle stated is 
disturbed by the existence of this mixed class. 

" Again, as has already been said, there is not, of necessity, 
any such thing as the free hired laborer being fixed to that con- 
dition for life. Many independent men everywhere in these 
States, a few years back in their lives were hired laborers. The 
prudent penniless beginner in the world labors for wages awhile, 



THE martyr's monument. 257 

saves a surplus with whicli to buy tools or land for himself, 
then labors on his own account another while, and at length 
hires another new beginner to help him. This is the just and 
generous and prosperous system which opens the way to all — 
gives hope to all, and consequent energy and j)rogress, and im- 
provement of condition to all. No men living are more worthy 
to be trusted than those who toil up from poverty — none less 
inclined to touch or take aught which they have not honestly 
earned. Let them beware of surrendering a political power 
they already possess, and which, if surrendered, will surely be 
used to close the door of advancement against such as they, and 
to fix new disabilities and burdens upon them, till all of liberty 
shall be lost." 

The views then expressed remain unchanged, nor have I much 
to add. None are so deeply interested to resist the present re- 
bellion as the working people. Let them beware of prejudices, 
working division and hostility among themselves. The most 
notable feature of a disturbance in your city last summer was 
the hanging of some working people by other working people. 
It should never be so. The strongest bond of human sympathy, 
outside of the family relation, should be one uniting all working 
people, of all nations and tongues, and kindreds. Nor should 
this lead to a war upon property or the owners of projDcrty. 
Property is the fruit of labor ; property is desirable ; is a posi- 
tive good in the world. That some should be rich shows that 
others may become rich, and, hence, is just encouragement to 
industry and enterprise. Let not him who is houseless pull 
down the house of another, but let him labor diligently and 
build one for himself, thus by example assuring that his own 
shall be safe from violence when built. 

DEFINING THE AMNESTY PROCLAMATION. 

The Proclamation of Amnesty, issued in December, 
1863, was scouted by the defenders and apoh)gists of the 
rebellion as adapted only to irritate the insurgents and 
stimulate them to prolong resistance. But early in 1864 



258 THE martyr's monument. 

the waning of confidence in the so-called Confederacy 
began to be manifested on the part of prisoners taken by 
the national forces. Many of these claimed the benefits 
of the amnesty, and wished to return to their allegiance 
as a mode of relieving themselves of the consequences 
of capture. These unreasonable expectations called out 
the following 

PROCLAMATION. 

Whereas^ it has become necessaiy to define the cases in which 
insargent enemies are entitled to the benefits of the Proclama- 
tion of the President of the United States, which was made on 
the 8th day of December, 1863, and the manner in which they 
shall proceed to avail themselves of these benefits ; and whereas 
the objects of that proclamation were to suppress the insurrec- 
tion and to restore the authority of the United States ; and 
whereas the amnesty therein proposed by the President was 
offered with reference to these objects alone ; 

Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the 
United states, do hereby proclaim and declare that the said 
proclamation does not apply to the cases of joersons who, at the 
time when they seek to obtain the benefits thereof by taking 
the oath thereby prescribed, are in military, naval or civil con- 
finement 0/ custody, or under bonds, or on parole of the civil, 
military oi naval authorities or agents of the United States, as 
prisoners ot war, or persons detained for offences of any kiad, 
either befoie or after conviction ; and that on the contrary it 
does apply only to those persons who, being yet at large, and 
free from any arrest, confinement, or duress, shall voluntarily 
come forward and take the said oath, with the purpose of re- 
storing peace and establishing the national authority. 

Persons excluded from the amnesty offered in the said pro- 
clamation may apply to the President for clemency, like all other 
offenders, and their api>lication will receive due consideration. 

I do further declare and proclaim that the oath presented in 
the aforesaid proclamation of the 8th of December, 1863, may 
be taken and subscribed before any commissioned oflScer, civil, 



THE martyr's monument. 259 

military or naval, in the service of the United States, or any- 
civil or military officer of a State or Territory not in insurrec- 
tion, who, by the laws thereof, may be qualified for administer- 
ing oaths. 

All officers who receive such oaths are hereby authorized to 
give certificates thereof to the persons respectively by whom 
they are made, and such officers are hereby required to transmit 
the original records of such oaths at as early a day as may be 
convenient, to the Department of State, where they will be de- 
posited, and remain in the archives of the Government. 

The Secretary of State will keep a registry thereof, and will, 
on application, in proper cases, issue certificates of such records 
in the customary form of official certificates. 

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused 
the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at 
the City of Washington, this 26th day of March, in the 
[l. s.] year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 
sixty-three, and of the independence of the United 
States of America the eighty-eighth. 
By the President : Abraham Lincoln. 

William H. Sewaed, Secretary of State. 



POLICY WITH REGARD TO SLAVERY. 

Mr. Lincoln, in various speeches and documents which 
are to be found in their places in this volume, set forth 
his views as to his duty, and his consequent policy, in 
regard to slavery. None of these, however, seem to be 
so complete an expression, both of his feeling and his 
purposes upon this subject, as that contained in the fol- 
lowing letter. It was addressed to Mr. A. G. Hodges, 
who, in company with Governor Bramlette of Kentucky, 
and some other gentlemen from that State, had waited 
upon the President in regard to a modification of the 
draft. In the course of their interview, a conversation 



260 THE martyr's monument. 

had taken place upon Mr. Lincoln's policy in regard to 
slavery, which he thought was misapprehended in Ken- 
tucky, and which he explained in the terms re-collected 
in this letter : 

Executive Mansion, Washington, April 4, 1864. 

A. G. Hodges, Esq., Franlcfort, Ky. — My Dea/r 8ir — You ask 
me to put in writing the substance of wliat I verbally said the 
other day, in your presence, to Governor Bramlette and Senator 
Dixon. It was about as follows : 

" 1 am naturally anti-slavery. If slavery is not wrong, nothing 
is wrong. I cannot remember when I did not so think and feel, 
and yet I have never understood that the Presidency conferred 
upon me an unrestricted right to act oflScially upon this judg- 
ment and feeling. It was in the oath I took, that I would, to 
the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Consti- 
tution of the United States. I could not take the office without 
taking the oath. Nor was it my view that I might take an oath to 
get power, and break the oath in using the power. I understood, 
too, that in ordinary civil administration this oath even forbade 
me to practically indulge my primary abstract judgment on the 
moral question of slavery. I had publicly declared this many 
times, and in many ways. And I aver that, to this day, I have 
done no official act in mere deference to my abstract judgment 
and feeling on slavery. I did understand, however, that my 
oath to preserve the Constitution to the best of my ability, im- 
posed upon me the duty of preserving, by every indispensable 
means, that government — that nation, of which that Constitu- 
tion was the organic law. Was it possible to lose the nation 
and yet preserve the Constitution ? By general law, life ana 
limb must be protected ; yet often a limb must be amj)utated 
to save a life ; but a life is never wisely given to save a limb. 
I felt that measures, otherwise unconstitutional, might become 
lawful by becoming indispensable to the preservation of the 
Constitution, through the preservation of the nation. Right or 
wrong, I assumed this ground, and now avow it. I could not 
feel that, to the best of my ability, I had even tried to preserve 
the Constitution, if, to save slavery, or any miuor matter, I 



THE martyr's monument. 261 

should permit the wi-eck of government, country, and Constitu- 
tion, altogether. When, early in the war. General Fremont 
attempted military emancipation, I forbade it, because I did not 
then think it an indispensable necessity. When, a little later, 
General Cameron, then Secretary of War, suggested the arming 
of the blacks, I objected, because I dicPnot yet think it an indis- 
pensable necessity. 'V\Tien, still later, General Hunter attempted 
military emancipation, I again forbade it, because I did not yet 
think the indispensable necessity had come. When, in March, 
and May, and July, 1862^ I made earnest and successive appeals 
to the border States to favor compensated emancipation, I 
believed the indispensable necessity for military emancipation 
and arming the blacks Tvould come, unless averted by that 
measure. They declined the f)roposition, and I was, in my best 
judgment, diiven to the alternative of either surrendering the 
Union, and with it, the Constitution, or of laying strong hand 
upon the colored element. I chose the latter. In choosing it, 
I hoped for greater gain than loss, but of this I was not entirely 
confident. More than a year of trial now shows no loss by it in 
our foreign relations, none in our home popular sentiment, none 
in our white military force, no loss by it anyhow, or anywhere. 
On the contrary, it shows a gain of quite a hundred and thirty 
thousand soldiers, seamen, and laborers. These are palpable 
facts, about which, as facts, there can be no caviling. We 
have the men ; and we could not have had them without the 
measure. 

" And now let any Union man who complains of the measure, 
test himself by writing down in one line, that he is for subduing 
the rebellion by force of arms ; and in the next, that he is for 
taking a hundred and thirty thousand men from the Union side, 
and placing them where they would be best for the measure he 
condemns. If he cannot face his case so stated, it is only 
because he cannot face the truth." 

I add a word wliich was not in the verbal conversation. In 
telling this tale, I attempt no compliment to my own sagacity. 
I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that 
events have controlled me. Now at the end of three years' 
struggle, the nation's condition is not what either party or any 



262 THE martyr's monument. 

man devised, or expected. God alone can claim it. Whither 
it is tending seems plain. If God now wills the removal of a 
great wrong, and wills also that we of the North, as well as you 
of the South, shall pay fairly for our complicity in that wrong, 
impartial history will find therein new causes to attest and 
revere the justice and goodness of God. 

Yours, truly, A. Lincoln. 

GENERAL GRANT. 

Mr. Lincoln expressed his high appreciation of General 
Grant, and his estimation of the difficulties he had before 
him, in the following letter addressed to the managers of 
a meeting in New York, held directly after that eminent 
soldier's opening of the long campaign which ended in 
the capture of Richmond and the crushing of the rebel- 
lion : 

ExECTJTiYE Mansion, Washington, June 3, 1864. 

Hon. F. A. GonMing^ and others — Oentlemen — Your letter in- 
viting me to be present at a mass meeting of the loyal citizens, 
to be held at New York on the 4th inst., for the purpose of ex- 
pressing gratitude to Lieutenant-General Grant for his signal 
services, was received yesterday. It is impossible for me to 
attend. I approve, nevertheless, whatever may tend to strengthen 
and sustain General Grant and the noble armies now under his 
direction. My previous high estimate of General Grant has 
been maintained and heightened by what has occurred in the 
remarkable campaign he is now conducting ; while the magni- 
tude and difficulty of the task before him does not prove less 
than I expected. He and his brave soldiers are now in the 
midst of their great trial, and I trust that, at your meeting, you 
will so shape your good words that they may turn to men and 
guns moving to his and their support. 

Yours truly, A. Lincoln, 



THE martyr's monument. 263 

CONaRESSIONAL SESSION OF 1864-5. 

Congress met in regular session on the 7th of Decem- 
ber, 1864, and received from the President the following 
Message, in which the passages chiefly worthy of note are 
those referring to the Constitutional Amendment abolish- 
ing slavery, to the futility of any attempt to negotiate 
with " the insurgent leaders," and to the development of 
the resources and the increase in the power of the country 
in the midst of the vast and long continued civil war. 

Fellow- Citizens of the Senate and House of Rep'esentatives — 
Again the blessings of health and abundant harvests claim our 
profoundest gratitude to Almighty God. 

The condition of our foreign affairs is reasonably satisfactory. 

Mexico continues to be a theatre of ci\i.l war. While our 
political relations w^th that country have undergone no change, 
we have at the same time strictly maintained neutrality between 
the belligerents. 

At the request of the States of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, a 
competent engineer has been authorized to make a survey of the 
River San Juan and the port of San Juan. It is a source of 
much satisfaction that the difficulties, which for a moment 
excited some political apprehension and caused a closing of the 
inter-oceanic transit route, have been amicably adjusted, and 
that there is a good prospect that the route will soon be re- 
opened, with an increase of capacity and adaptation. We 
could not exaggerate either the commercial or the political 
importance of that great improvement. It would be doing 
injustice to an important South American State, not to acknowl 
edge the directness, frankness, and cordiality with which the 
States of Colombia have entered into intimate relations with 
this Government. A claims-convention has been constituted to 
complete the unfinished work of the one which closed its ses- 
sion in 1861. 

The new liberal Constitution of Venezuela having gone into 
cflfect with the universal acquiescence of the people, the govern- 



264 THE martyr's monument. 

ment under it has been recognized, and diplomatic intercourse 
with it has been opened in a cordial and friendly spirit. 

The long deferred Aves Island claim has been satisfactorily 
paid and discharged. Mutual payments have been made of 
the claims awarded by the late Joint Commission for the settle- 
ment of claims between the United States and Peru. An ear- 
nest and cordial friendship continues to exist between the two 
countries ; and such efforts as were in my power have been used 
to remove misunderstanding and avert a threatened war 
between Peru and Spain. Our relations are of the most friendly 
nature with Chili, the Argentine Republic, Bolivia, Costa Rica, 
Paraguay, San Salvador and Hayti. During the past year no 
differences of any kind have arisen with any of these Repub- 
lics. And, on the other hand, their sympathies with the United 
States are constantly expressed with cordiality and earnestness. 

The claim arising from the seizure of the cargo of the brig 
Macedonian, in 1821, has been paid in full by the Government 
of Chili. 

Civil war continues in the Spanish part of San Domingo, 
apparently without prospect of an early close. 

Official correspondence has been freely opened with Liberia, 
and it gives us a pleasing view of social and political progress 
in that Republic. It may be expected to derive new vigor from 
American influence, improved by the rapid disappearance of 
slavery in the United States. 

I solicit your authority to furnish to the Republic a gunboat 
at a moderate cost, to be reimbursed to the United States by 
installments. Such a vessel is needed for the safety of that 
State against the native African races, and in Liberian hands it 
would be more effective in arresting the African slave-trade, 
than a squadron in our own hands. The possession of the least 
organized naval force would stimulate a generous ambition in 
the Republic, and the confidence which we should manifest by 
fumishiQg it would win forbearance and favor toward the colony 
from all civilized nations. 

The proposed overland telegraph between America and 
Europe by the way of Behring's Straits and Asiatic Russia, 
which was sanctioned by Congress at the last session, has been 



THE martyr's monument. 265 

undertaken under very favorable circumstances by an associa- 
tion of American citizens, witli the cordial good-will and sup- 
port as well of this Government as of those of Great Britain and 
Russia. Assurances have been received from most of the South 
American States of their high appreciation of the enterprise 
and their readiness to co-operate in constructing lines tributary 
to that world-encircling communication. 

I learn with much satisfaction that the noble design of a tele- 
graphic communication between the Eastern Coast of America 
and Great Britain has been renewed, with full expectation of 
its early accomplishment. Thus it is hoped that with the 
return of domestic peace, the country will be able to resume 
with energy and advantage her former high career of commerce 
and civilization. 

Our very popular and estimable representative in Egypt died 
in April last. An unpleasant altercation which arose between 
the temporary incumbent of the office and the Government of 
the Pacha, resulted in a suspension of intercourse. The evil 
was promptly corrected on the arrival of the successor in the 
consulate and our relations with Egypt, as well as our relations 
with the Barbary Powers, are entirely satisfactory. 

The rebellion, which has so long been flagrant in China, has 
at last been suppressed, with the co-operating good olfices of 
this Government, and of the other Western commercial States. 
The judicial consular establishment has become very difficult 
and onerous, and it will need legislative organization to adapt 
it to the extension of our commerce, and to the more intimate 
intercourse which has been instituted with the government and 
people of that vast empire. China seems to be accepting, with 
hearty good will, the conventional laws which regulate com- 
merce and social intercourse among Western nations. 

Owing to the peculiar situation of Japan and the anomalous 
form of its government, the action of that empire in perfonning 
treaty stipulations is inconstant and capricious. Nevertheless, 
good progress has been effected by the Western Powers, moving 
with enlightened concert. Our own pecuniary claims have 
been allowed, or put in course of settlement, and the inland 
sea has been reopened to commerce. There is reason also to 



266 THE martyr's monument. 

believe tliat these proceedings have increased rather than dimin- 
ished the friendship of Japan toward the United States. 

The ports of Norfolk, Femandina and Pensacola have been 
opened by proclamation. It is hoped that foreign merchants 
will now consider whether it is not safer and more profit- 
able to themselves, as well as just to the United States, to resort 
to them and other open ports, than it is to pursue, through 
many hazards and at vast cost, a contraband trade with other 
ports which are closed, if not by actual military operation, at 
least by a lawful and effective blockade. 

For myself, I have no doubt of the power and duty of the 
Executive, under the law of nations, to exclude enemies of the 
human race from an asylum in the United States. If Congress 
should think that proceedings in such cases lack the authority 
of law, or ought to be further regulated by it, I recommend 
that provision be made for effectually preventing foreign slave- 
traders from acquiring domicile and facilities for their criminal 
occupation in our country. 

It is possible that if it were a new and open question, the 
Maritime Powers, with the light they now enjoy, would not 
concede the privileges of a naval belligerent to the insurgents 
of the United States, destitute as they are and always have 
been, equally of ships and of ports and harbors. Disloyal 
emissaries have been neither less assiduous nor more successful 
during the last year than they were before that time in their 
efforts, under favor of that privilege, to embroil our country in 
foreign wars. The desire and determination of the Maritime 
States to defeat that design are believed to be as sincere as, and 
cannot be more earnest than our own. Nevertheless unforeseen 
political difficulties have arisen, especially in Brazilian and 
British ports and on the Northern boundary of the United 
States, which have required and are likely to continue to 
require the practice of constant vigilance and a just and con- 
ciliatory spirit on the part of the United States, as well as of 
the nations concerned and their governments. Commissioners 
have been appointed under the treaty with Great Britain on 
the adjustment of the claims of the Hudson Bay and Puget's 
Sound Agricultural Companies in Oregon, and are now pro- 
ceeding to the execution of the trust assigned to them. 



THE martyr's monument. 267 

In view of the insecurity of life in the region adjacent to the 
Canadian border, by recent assaults and depredations committed 
by inimical and desperate persons, who are harbored there, it 
has been thought proper to give notice that after the expiration 
of six months, the period conditionally stipulated in the exist- 
ing arrangements with Great Britain, the United States must 
hold themselves at liberty to increase their naval armament 
upon the Lakes, if they shall find that proceeding necessary. 
The condition of the border will necessarily come into consider- 
ation in connection with the question of continuing or modify- 
ing the rights of transit from Canada through the United States, 
as well as the regulation of imports, which were temporarily 
established by the Reciprocity Treaty of the 5th June, 1854. 
I desire, however, to be understood while making this state- 
ment, that the colonial authorities are not deemed to be inten- 
tionally unjust or unfriendly toward the United States, but on 
the contrary, there is every reason to expect that with the 
approval of the Imperial Government they will take the neces- 
sary measure to prevent new incursions across the border. 

The act passed at the last session for the encouragement of 
emigration has, as far as was possible, been put into operation. 
It seems to need amendment, which will enable the ofiicers of 
the Government to prevent the practice of frauds against the 
immigrants while on their way, and on their arrival in the ports, 
so as to secure them here a free choice of avocations and places 
of settlement. A liberal disposition toward this great national 
policy is manifested by most of the European States, and 
ought to be reciprocated on our part, by gi^^ng the immigrants 
effective national protection. I regard our emigrants as one of 
the principal replenishing streams which are appointed by 
Providence to repair the ravages of internal war and its wastes 
of national strength and health. All that is necessaiy is to 
secure the flow of that stream in its present fulness, and to that 
end the Government must in every way make it manifest that 
it neither needs nor designs to impose involuntary military 
service upon those who come from other lands to cast their lot 
in our country. 

The financial affairs of the Government have been successfully 



268 THE makttr's monument. 

administered during tlie last year. The legislation of the last 
session of Congress has beneficially affected the revenue. Al- 
though sufiicient time has not yet elapsed to experience the 
full effect of several of the provisions of the acts of Congress 
imposing increased taxation, the receipts during the year, from 
all sources, upon the basis of warrants signed by the Secretary 
of the Treasury, including loans, and the balance in the Trea- 
sury on the 1st day of July, 1863, were $1,394,796,007 62, and 
the aggregate disbursements upon the same basis, were $1,298,- 
056,101 89, leaving a balance in the Treasury, as shown by war- 
rants, of $96,739,905 73, Deduct from these amounts the 
amount of the principal of the public debt redeemed and the 
amount of issues in substitution therefor, and the actual cash 
operations of the Treasury were : Receipts, $884,076,646 77 ; 
disbursements, $865,234,087 86, which leaves a cash balance in 
the Treasury of $18,842,558 71. Of the receipts, there were 
derived from customs, $102,316,152 99 : from lands, $388,333 29 ; 
from direct taxes, $475,648 96; from internal revenue, $109,- 
741,134 10; from miscellaneous sources, $47,511,448 10; and 
from loans applied to actual expenditures, including former 
balance, $623,443,929 13. There were disbursed for the civil 
service, $27,505,599 46 ; for pensions and Indians, $7,517,930 97; 
for the War Department, $60,791,842 97; for the Navy Depart- 
ment, $85,733,292 79 ; for interest of the public debt, $53,685,- 
421 69, making an aggregate of $865,234,087 86, and leaving a 
balance in the Treasury of $18,842,558 71, as before stated. 

For the actual receipts and disbursements for the first quar- 
ter, and the estimated receipts and disbursements for the three 
remaining quarters of the current fiscal year, and the general 
operations of the Treasury in detail, I refer you.to the report 
of the Secretary of the Treasury. I concur with him in the 
opinion that the proportion of the moneys required to meet the 
expenses consequent upon the war, derived from taxation, 
should be still further increased ; and I earnestly invite your 
attention to this subject to the end that there may be such 
additional legislation as shall be required to meet the just 
expectations of the Secretary. The public debt on the 1st day 
of July last, as appears by the books of the Treasury, amounted 



THE martyr's monument. 269 

to one billion, seven hundred and forty thousand million, six 
hundred and ninety thousand, four hundred and eighty-nine 
dollars and forty-nine cents. Probably should the war continue 
for another year, that amount may be increased by not far from 
five hundred millions. Held, as it is for the most part by our 
own people, it has become a substantial branch of national 
though private property. For obvious reasons the more nearly 
this property can be distributed among all the people the bet- 
ter. To favor such general distribution, greater inducements to 
become o^\Tiers might perhaps, with good effect and without 
injury, be presented to persons of limited means. With this 
view, I suggest whether it might not be both expedient and 
competent for Congress to provide that a lunited amount of 
some future issue of public securities might be held by any 
bona fide jjurchaser exempt from taxation and from seizure for 
debt under such restrictions and limitations as might be neces- 
sary to guard against abuse of so important a privilege. This 
would enable i^rudent persons to set aside a small annuity 
against a possible day of want. Privileges like these would 
render the possession of such securities to the amount limited 
most desirable to any person of small means, who might be able 
to save enough for the jiurpose. The great advantage of citi- 
zens being creditors, as well as debtors, with relation to the 
public debt, is obvious. Men readily perceive that they cannot 
be much oppressed by a debt which they owe themselves. The 
public debt on the 1st day of July last, although somewhat ex- 
ceeding the estimate of the Secretary of the Treasury made to 
Congress at the commencement of the last session, falls short 
of the estimate of that officer made in the preceding December, 
as to its probable amount at the beguming of this year, by the 
sum of $3,995,079 33. This fact exhibits a satisfactory condi- 
tion and conduct of the oiDerations of the Treasury. 

The National Banking system is proving to be acceptable to 
capitalists and to the people. On the 25th day of November, 
584 National Banks had been organized, a considerable number 
of which were conversions from State banks. Changes from 
the State system to the National system are rapidly taking 
place, and it is hoped that very soon there will be in the United 



270 THE martyr's monument. 

states, no banks of issue not authorized by Congress, and no 
bank-note circulation not secured by the Government ; that the 
Government and the people will derive general benefit from this 
change in the banking systems of the country can hardly be 
questioned. The National system will create a reliable and per- 
manent influence in support of the national credit and protect 
the people against losses in the use of paper money. Whether 
or not any further legislation is advisable for the suppression of 
State bank issues, it will be for Congress to determine. It seems 
quite clear that the Treasury cannot be satisfactorily conducted 
unless the Government can exercise a restraining power over the 
bank-note circulation of the country. 

The report of the Secretary of War and the accompanying 
documents will detail the campaigns of the armies in the field, 
since the date of the last Annual Message, and also the opera- 
tions of the several administrative bureaux of the War Depart- 
ment during the last year. It will also specify the measures 
deemed essential for the national defence, and to keep up and 
supply the requisite military force. The report of the Secretary 
of the Navy presents a comprehensive and satisfactory exhibit 
of the afi"airs of that department and of the naval service. It is 
a subject of congratulation and laudable pride to our country- 
men that a navy of such proportions has been organized in so 
brief a period, and conducted with so much efficiency and suc- 
cess. 

The general exhibit of the navy, including vessels under con- 
struction on the 1st of December, 1864, shows a total of 671 
vessels, carrying 4,610 guns, and 510,396 tons, being an actual 
increase during the year, over and above all losses by shipwreck 
or in battle, of 83 vessels, 167 guns, and 42,427 tons. The to- 
tal number of men at this time in the naval service, including 
officers, is about 51,000. There have been captured by the 
navy, during the year, 324 vessels, and the whole number of 
naval captures since hostilities commenced is 1,379, of which 
267 are steamers. The gross receipts arising from the sale of 
condemned prize property thus far reported amounts to $14,- 
396,250 51. A large amount of such proceeds is still under ad- 
judication, and yet to be reported. The total expenditure of 



THE martyr's monument. 271 

the Navy Department, of every description, including the cost 
of the immense squadrons that have been called into existence 
from the 4th of March, 1861, to the 1st of November, 1864, are 
$238,647,262 35. Your favorable consideration is invited to the 
various recommendations of the Secretary of the Navy, es- 
pecially in regard to a navy-yard and suitable establishment for 
the construction and repair of iron vessels, and the machinery 
and armature of our ships, to which reference was made in my 
last Annual Message. 

Your attention is also invited to the views expressed in the 
report in relation to the legislation of Congress at its last session, 
in respect to prizes on our inland waters. I cordially concur in 
the recommendation of the Secretary as to the propriety of cre- 
ating the new rank of Vice-Admiral in our naval service. 

Your attention is invited to the report of the Postmaster-Gen- 
eral for a detailed account of the operations and financial con- 
dition of the Post-office Department. The postal revenue for 
the year ending June 30, 1854, amounted to $12,468,253 78, and 
the expenditures to $12,644,786 20 ; the excess of expenditures 
over receipts being $206,652 42. 

The views presented by the Postmaster-General on the subject 
of special grants by the Government in aid of the establish- 
ment of new lines of ocean mail steamships, and the policy he 
recommends for the develojiment of increased commercial inter- 
course with adjacent and neighboring countries, should receive 
the careful consideration of Congress. 

It is of noteworthy interest that the steady expansion of pop- 
ulation, improvement and governmental institutions over the 
new and unoccupied portions of our country, have scarcely been 
checked, much less impeded or destroyed, by our great civil 
war, which, at first glance, would seem to have absorbed almost 
the entire energies of the nation. 

The organization and admission of the State of Nevada has 
been completed, in conformity with law, and thus our excel- 
lent system is firmly established in the mountains which once 
seemed a barren and uninhabitable waste, between the Atlantic 
States and those which have grown up on the coast of the Pa- 
cific Ocean. 



272 ' THE martyr's monument. ♦ 

The territories of the Union are generally in a condition of 
prosperity and rapid growth. Idaho and Montana, by reason 
of their great distance, and the interruption of communication 
with them by Indian hostilities, have been only partially organ- 
ized ; but it is imderstood that these difficulties are about to dis- 
appear, which will permit their governments, like those of the 
others, to go into speedy and full operation.' As intimately 
connected with and promotive of this material growth of the 
nation, I ask the attention of Congress to the valuable informa- 
tion and important recommendations relating to the public 
lands, Indian affairs, the Pacific railroads, and mineral discov- 
eries contained in the report of the Secretary of the Interior, 
which is herewith transmitted, and which report also embraces 
the subjects of patents, pensions, and other topics of public in- 
terest pertaining to his Department. The quantity of public 
land disposed of during the five quarters ending on the thirtieth 
of September last, was 4,221,342 acres, of which 1,538,614 acres 
were entered under the homestead law. The remainder was 
located with militaiy land warrants, agricultural scrip, certified 
to States for railroads, and sold for cash. The cash received 
from sales and location fees was $1,019,446. The income from 
sales during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1864, was $678,007 
21, against $136,077 95 received during the preceding year. 
The aggregate number of acres surveyed during the year has 
been equal to the quantity disposed of, and there is open to set- 
tlement about 133,000,000 acres of surveyed land. 

The great entei*prise of connecting the Atlantic with the Pa- 
cific States, by railways and telegraph lines, has been entered 
upon with a vigor that gives assurance of success, notwithstand- 
ing the embarrassments arising from the prevailing high prices 
of materials and labor. The route of the main line of the road 
has been definitely located for one hundred miles westward from 
the central point at Omaha City, Nebraska, and a preliminary 
location of the Pacific Eailroad of California has been made 
from Sacramento, eastward, to the great bend of the Mucker 
Eiver in Nevada. Numerous discoveries of gold, silver and cin- 
nabar mines have been added to the many heretofore known, 
and the country occujDied by the Sierra Nevada and Kocky 



THE martyr's monument. 273 

Mountains and the subordinate ranges now teems "witli enter- 
prising labor, wMch is richly remunerative. 

It is believed that the product of the mines of precious metals in 
that region has, during the year, reached, if not exceeded, $100,- 
000,000 in value. It was recommended in my last Annual Message 
that our Indian system be remodeled. Congress at its last session, 
acting upon the recommendation, did provide for reorganizing 
the system in California, and it is believed that imder the pres- 
ent organization the management of the Indians there will be 
attended with reasonable success. Much yet remains to be done 
to provide for the proper government of the Indians in other 
parts of the country, to render it secure for the advancing set- 
tler, and to provide for the welfare of the nation. The Secre- 
tary reiterates his recommendations, and to them the attention 
of Congress is invited. 

The liberal provisions made by Congress for paying pensions 
to invalid soldiers and sailors of the Republic, and to the 
widows, orphans, and dependent mothers of those who have 
fallen in battle or died of disease contracted, or of wounds 
received in the service of their country, have been diligently 
administered. 

There have been added to the pension rolls during the year 
ending the 30th day of June last, the names of 16,770 invalid 
soldiers, and of 271 disabled seamen, making the present num- 
ber of army invalid pensioners 23,767, and of navy invalid pen- 
sioners 712. Of widows, orphans, and mothers, 22,198 have 
been placed on the Army Pension Rolls, and 248 on the Navy 
Rolls. The present number of army pensioners of this class is 
25,443, and of navy pensioners, 793. At the beginning of the 
year the number of Revolutionary pensioners was 1,430. Only 
twelve of them were soldiers, of whom seven have since died. 
The remainder are those who, under the law, receive pensions 
because of relationship to Revolutionary soldiers. During the 
year ending the 30th of June, 1864, $4,504,616 92 have been 
paid to pensioners of all classes. 

I cheerfully commend to your continued patronage the benev- 
olent institutions of the District of Columbia, which have hith- 
erto been established or fostered by Congress, and respectfully 



274 



refer for information concerning them, and in relation to the 
Washington Aqueduct, the Capitol, and other matters of local 
interest, to the rej)ort of the Secretary. 

The Agricultural Department, under the supervision of its 
present energetic and faithful head, is rapidly commending it- 
self to the great and vital interest it was created to advance. 
It is peculiarly the People's Department, in which they feel 
rnort) directly concerned than in any other. I commend it to 
the continued attention and fostering care of Congress. 

The war continues. Since the last Annual Message all the 
important lines and positions then occupied by our forces have 
been maintained, and our armies have steadily advanced, thus 
liberatiiig the regions left in the rear, so that Missouri, Kentucky, 
Tennessee, and parts of other States have again produced rea- 
sonably lair crops. 

The must remarkable feature in the military operations of the 
year, is General Sherman's attempted march of three hundred 
miles directly through an insurgent region. It tends to show a 
great increase of our relative strength, that our General-in-Chief 
should feel able to confront and hold in check every active force 
of the enemy, and yet to detach a well appointed large army to 
move on such an expedition. The result not yet being known, 
conjecture in regard to it cannot here be indulged. 

Important movements have also occurred during the year to 
the effect of moulding society for durability in the Union. 
Although short of complete success, it is much in the right 
direction that 12,000 citizens in each of the States of Arkansas 
and Louisiana have organized loyal State Governments with 
free constitutions, and are earnestly struggling to maintain 
and administer them. The movement in the same direction, 
more extensive, though less definite, in Missouri, Kentucky, 
and Tennessee should not be overlooked. But Maryland pre- 
sents the example of complete success. Maryland is secure to 
Liberty and Union for all the future. The genius of rebellion 
will no more claim Maryland. Like another foul spirit being 
driven out, it may seek to tear her, but it will woo her no 
more. 

At the last session of Congress a proposed amendment of the 



THE martyr's monument. 275 

Constitution, abolishing slavery throughout the United States, 
passed the Senate, but failed for lack of the requisite two- 
thirds vote in the House of Representatives. Although the 
present is the same Congress, and nearly the same members, and 
without questioning the wisdom or patriotism of those who 
stood in opposition, I venture to recommend the reconsidera- 
tion and passage of the measure at the present session. Of 
course, the abstract question is not changed, but an intervening 
election shows almost certainly that the next Congress will pass 
the measure if this does not. Hence there is only a question 
of time as to when the proposed amendment will go to the 
States for their action, and as it is to go, at all events may we 
not agree that the sooner the better. It is not claimed th-at the 
election has imposed a duty on members to change their views 
or their votes any further than as an additional element to be 
considered. Their judgment may be affected by it. It is the 
voice of the people now for the first time heard upon the ques- 
tion. In a great national crisis like ours, unanimity of action 
among those seeking a common end is very desirable, almost 
indispensable, and yet no approach to such unanimity is attain- 
able unless some deference shall be paid to the will of the ma- 
jority. In this case the common end is' the maintenance of the 
Union, and among the means to secure that end, such will, 
through the election, is most clearly declared in favor of such 
constitutional amendment. The most reliable indication of 
public purpose in this country is derived through our popular 
elections. Judging by the recent canvass and its result, the 
purpose of the people within the loyal States, to maintain the 
integrity of the Union, was never more firm nor more nearly 
unanimous than now. The extraordinary calmness and good 
order with which the millions of voters met and mingled at the 
polls, give strong assurance of this. Not only all those who 
supported the Union ticket (so called), but a great majority of 
the opposing party also may be fairly claimed to entertain and 
to be actuated by the same purpose. It is an unanswerable 
argument to this effect, that no candidate for any office whatever, 
high or low, has ventured to seek votes on the avowal that he 
was for giving up the Union. There has been much impugn- 



2T6 THE maetyr's monument. 

ing of motives and much heated controversy as to the proper 
means and best mode of advancing the Union cause, but in the 
distinct issue of Union or no Union, the politicians have shown 
their instinctive knowledge that there is no diversity among the 
people. In affording the people the fair opportunity of show- 
ing one to another, and to the world, this firmness and unanim- 
ity of purpose, the election has been of vast value to the 
national cause. The election has exhibited another fact not 
less valuable to be known — the fact that we do not approach 
exhaustion in the most important branch of national resources : 
that of living men. While it is melancholy to reflect that the 
war has filled so many graves and caused mourning to so many 
hearts, it is some relief to know that, copipared with the sur- 
viving, the fallen have been so few. While corps, and divisions, 
and regiments have formed, and fought, and dwmdled, and 
gone out of existence, a great majority of the men who com- 
posed them are still living. The same is true of the naval ser- 
vice. The election returns prove this. So many voters could 
not else be found. The States regularly holding elections both 
now and four years ago, to wit : California, Connecticut, Dela- 
ware, Illinois, Indiana, low^a, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massa- 
chusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, N^w Hampshire, New 
Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, 
Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, cast 3,982,011 votes 
now, against 3,870,222 cast then, showing an aggregate now of 
3,982,011, to which is to be added 33,762 cast now in the new 
States of Kansas and Nevada, which States did not vote in 1860 
— ^thus swelling the aggregate to 4,015,773, and the net increase 
during the three years and a half of war to 145,551. * * * 
To this, again, should be' added the number of all soldiers 
in the field from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, 
Delaware, Indiana, Illinois and California, who, by the laws 
of those States, could not vote away from their homes, and 
which number can not be less than 90,000. Nor yet is this 
all. The number in organized territories is triple now what 
it was four years ago ; while thousands, white and black, join 
us as the national arms press back the insurgent lines — so 
much is shown affirmatively and negatively by the election. 



THE martyr's monument. 277 

It is not material to inquire how the increase has been pro- 
duced, or to show that it would have been greater but for the 
war, which is probably true; the important fact remains 
demonstrated that we have more men now than we had 
when the war began; that we are not exhausted nor in 
process of exhaustion ; that we are gaining strength, and may, 
if need be, maintain the contest indefinitely. This as to men. 

Material resources are now more complete and abundant than 
ever. The national resources, then, are unexhausted, and, as 
we believe, inexhaustible. The public purpose to re-establish 
and maintain the national authority is unchanged, and, as we 
believe, unchangeable. The manner of continuing the effort 
remains to choose. On careful consideration of all the evi- 
dence accessible, it seems to me that no attempt at negotiation 
with the insurgent leader could result in any good. He would 
accept of nothing short of the severance of the Union. His 
declarations to this effect are explicit and oft-repeated. He 
does not attempt to deceive us. He affords us no excuse to 
deceive ourselves. "We can not voluntarily yield it. Between 
him and us the issue is distinct, simple, and inflexible. It is 
an issue which can only be tried by war, and decided by victoiy. 
If we yield we are beaten. If the Southern people fail him he 
is beaten ; either way it would be the victory and defeat follow- 
ing war. What is true, however, of him who heads the insur- 
gent cause, is not necessarily true of those who follow. Al- 
though he can not re-accept the Union, they can. Some of 
them we know already desire peace and re-union. The number 
of such may increase. They can at any moment have peace 
simply by laying down their arms and submitting to the 
national authority under the Constitution. After so much the 
Government could not, if it would, maintain war against them. 
The loyal people would not sustain or allow it. If questions 
should remain we would adjust them by the peaceful means of 
legislation, conference, courts and votes. Operating only in 
constitutional and lawful channels, some certain and other pos- 
sible questions are and would be beyond the Executive power 
to adjust, as, for instance, the admission of members into Con- 
gress, and whatever might require the appropriation of money. 



278 THE martyr's monument. 

The Executive power itself would be greatly diminislied by the 
cessation of actual war. Pardons and remissions of forfeiture, 
however, would still be within Executive control. In what 
spirit and temper this control would be exercised, can be fairly 
judged of by the past. A year ago general pardon and 
amnesty, upon specified terms, were ofiered to all except certain 
designated classes, and it was at the same time made known 
that the excepted classes were still within contemplation of 
special clemency. During the year many availed themselves of 
the general provision, and many more would, only that the 
signs of bad faith in some led to such precautionary measures 
as rendered the practical process less easy and certain. Dur- 
ing the same time, also, special pardons have been granted to 
individuals of excepted classes, and no voluntary application 
has been denied. 

Thus practically the door has been for a full year open to all, 
except such as were not in condition to make free choice ; that 
is, such as were in custody or under constraint. It is still so 
open to all, but the time may come, probably will come, when 
public duty shall demand that it be closed, and that in lieu, 
more vigorous measures than heretofore shall be adopted. 

In presenting the abandonment of armed resistance to the 
national authority on the part of the insurgents, as the only in- 
dispensable condition to ending the war on the part of the Gov- 
ernment, I retract nothing heretofore said as to slavery. I re- 
peat the declaration made a year ago, and that while I remain 
in i«y present position I sjiall not attempt to retract or modify 
the Emancipation Proclamation. Nor shall I return to slavery 
any person who is free by the terms of that proclamation, or by 
any of the acts of Congress. If the people should, by whatever 
mode or means, make it an Executive duty to reenslave such 
persons, another, and not I, must be their instrimient to per- 
form it. 

Ik stating a single condition of peace, I mean simply to say 
that the war will cease on the part of the Government whenever 
it shdll have ceased on the part of those who began it. 

(Signed) Abbaham Lincoln. 



THE martyr's monument. 279 

SECOND INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 

At the Presidential election of 1864, Mr. Lincoln was 
reelected bj a majority so large and so widely diffused as 
to be the most remarkable approval of the course of any 
administration since the reelection of Mr, Jefferson in 
1801. Even the reelection of General Jackson was not 
equal to it in this respect. On the 4th of March, 1865, 
Mr. Lincoln took his second oath of office, and delivered 
the following Inaugural Address ; the solemnity, the 
piety, and the almost tender loving-kindness of which was 
at once remarked throughout this country and Europe. 

Fellow-Gountrymen — At this second appearing to take the 
oath of the Presidential office, there is less occasion for an ex- 
tended address than there was at the first. Then a statement 
somewhat in detail of a course to be pursued seemed very fit- 
ting and proper. Now, at the expiration of four years, during 
which public declarations have been constantly called forth on 
every point and phase of the great contest which still absorbs 
the attention and engrosses the energies of the nation, little that 
is new could be presented. 

The jDrogress of our arms, upon which all else chiefly depends 
is as well known to the public as to myself, and it is, I trust, 
reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all. With high hope 
for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured. 

On the occasion corresponding to this four years ago, all 
thoughts were anxiously directed to an impending civil war. 
All dreaded it ; all sought to avoid it. While the ianugural 
address was being delivered from this place, devoted altogetlier 
to saving the Union without war, insurgent agents were in the 
city seeking to destroy it without war — seeking to dissolve the 
Union and divide the effects by negotiation. Both parties 
deprecated war, but one of them would make war rather than 
let the nation survive, and the other would accept war rather 
than let it perish, and the war came. 

One-eighth of the whole population were colored slaves, not 



280 THE martyr's monument. 

distributed generally over the Union, but localized in the South- 
ern part of it. These slaves constituted a peculiar and power- 
ful interest. All knew that this interest was somehow the cause 
of the war. To strengthen, j)erpetuate and extend this interest, 
was the object for which the insurgents would rend the Union 
even by war, while the Government claimed no right to do 
more than to restrict the territorial enlargement of it. 

Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the 
duration which it has already attained. Neither anticipated 
that the cause of the conflict might cease with, or even before 
the conflict itself should cease. Each looked for an easier tri- 
umph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. 

Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each 
mvokes his aid against the other. It may seem strange that any 
men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing 
their bread from the sweat of other men's faces, but let us 
judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could 
not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully. 
The Almighty has his own purposes. " Woe unto the world 
because of oflfences, for it must needs be that offences come : 
but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh." If we 
shall suppose that American slavery is one of these offences, 
which in the providence of God must needs come, but which 
having continued through his appointed time, He now wills to 
remove, and that He gives to both North and South this terrible 
war as the woe due to those by whom the offence came, shall we 
discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which 
the believers in a living God always ascribe to Him ? Fondly 
do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of 
war may soon pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue 
until all the wealth piled by the bondman's two hundred and 
fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every 
drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid with another 
drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago ; 
so, still it must be said, " The judgments of the Lord are true 
and righteous altogether." 

With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness 
in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to 



THE martyr's monument. 281 

finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to 
care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow 
and orphans, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and 
a lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations. 

NEGROES IN THE REBEL ARMIES. 

On the 19th of March, 1865, there was a large gather- 
ing of people in front of the National Hotel at Washing- 
ton, on occasion of the presentation of a rebel flag, 
captured at Anderson bj the 140th Indiana regiment. 
After a speech by Governor Morton, of Indiana, the 
President addressed the assembly substantially as follows, 
directing his remarks chiefly to the subject of the then 
recently proposed arming of their negroes by the rebels. 
Mr. Lincoln's speech on this occasion was a striking 
exhibition of that combination of humor and sagacity 
which was one of the characteristic traits of his mind, 
and which enabled him to " put things" in such a clear, 
convincing, and attractive way before the public : 

Fellow-citizens — It will be but a very few words that I shall 
undertake to say. I was born in Kentucky, raised in Indiana, 
and lived in Illinois, [laughter,] and now I am here, where it is 
my business to care equally for the good people of all the States. 
I am glad to see an Indiana regiment on this day able to present 
the captured flag to the Governor of Indiana. I am not dis- 
posed in saying this to make a distinction between the States, 
for all have done equally well. There are but few views or 
aspects of this great war upon which I have not said or written 
something whereby my own opinions might be known. But 
there is one — the recent attempt of our erring brethren, as they 
are sometimes called, to employ the negro to fight for them. I 
have neither written or made a speech on that subject, because 
that was their business, not mine ; and if I had a wish upon the 
subject, I had not the power to introduce it or make it effective. 



282 



The great question witli them was whether the negro, being put 
into the army, will fight for them. I do not know, and there- 
fore cannot decide. They ought to know better than I. I have, 
in my lifetime, heard many arguments why the negroes ought 
to be slaves ; but if they fight for those who keep them in 
slavery, it will be a better argument than any I have yet heard. 
[Laughter and applause.] He who will fight for that ought to 
be a slave. [Applause.] They have concluded, at last, to take 
one out of four of the slaves, and put them in the army ; and 
that one out of the four who will fight to keep the others in 
slavery ought to be a slave himself, unless he is killed in a fight. 
[Applause.] While I have often said that all men ought to be 
free, yet I would allow those colored persons to be slaves who 
want to be ; and next to them those white people who argue in 
favor of making other people slaves. [Apj)lause.] I am in 
favor of giving an appointment to such white men to try it on 
for these slaves. I will say one thing in regard to the negroes 
being employed to fight for them. I do know he cannot fight 
and stay at home and make bread too. And as one is about as 
important as the other to them, I don't care which they do. I 
am rather in favor of having them try them as soldiers. They 
lack one vote of doing that, and I wish I could send my vote 
over the river, so that I might cast it in favor of allowing the 
negro to fight. [Applause.] But they cannot fight and work 
both. We must now see the bottom of the enemy's resources. 
They will stand out as long as they can, and if the negro will 
fight for them, they must allow him to fight. They have drawn 
upon their last branch of resources, and we can now see the 
bottom. I am glad to see the end so near at hand. [Applause.] 
I have said now more than I intended, and will therefore bid 
you good bye. 

-THE QUESTION 
OF REORGANIZATION. 

At last came the inevitable conclusion — Grant's crown- 
ing victory — the capture of Richmond, the surrender of 
General Lee's army at Appomattox Court House, and the 



THE martyr's monument. 283 

grand crash of the rebellion. On the evening of the 11th 
of April, there were wide-spread rejoicings at Washino-- 
ton, illuminations and bonfires. The citizens assembled 
in large numbers before the White House, and the Presi- 
dent made to them the following speech. He took the 
opportunity to set forth his views upon the reorganization 
of society in the so-called seceded States, and the re- 
establishment in them of the national authority. As his 
manner was he did not underrate the difficulty of the 
task ; but he pointed out the simplest and directest means 
of its accomplishment : 

We meet this evening, not in sorrow, but in gladness of heart. 
The evacuation of Petersburgh and Richmond, and the surren- 
der of the principal insurgent army, give hopes of a righteous 
and speedy peace, whose joyous expression cannot be restrained. 
In the midst of this, however, he from whom all blessings flow 
must not be forgotten. A call for a national thanksgiving is 
being prepared, and will be duly promulgated. Nor must 
those whose harder part gives us the cause of rejoicing be over- 
looked. Their honors must not be parceled out with others. 
I myself was near the front, and had the high pleasure of trans- 
mitting much of the good news to you. But no part of the 
honor for plan or execution is mine. To General Grant, his 
skillful officers, and brave men, all belongs. The gallant navy 
stood ready, but was not in reach to take active part. By these 
recent successes the reinauguration of the national authority — 
reconstruction, which has had a large share of thought from 
the first — ^is pressed much more closely upon our attention. It 
is fraught with great difficulty. Unlike a war between inde- 
pendent nations, there is no authorized organ for us to treat 
with. No one man has authority to give up the rebellion for 
any other man. We must simply begin with and mould from 
disorganized and discordant elements. Nor is it a small addi- 
tional embarrassment that we, the loyal people, differ among 
ourselves as to the mode, manner, and measure of reconstruc- 



284 



tion. As a* general rule, I abstain from reading the reports 
of attacks upon myself, wisMng not to be provoked by that to 
which I cannot properly offer an answer. In spite of this pre- 
caution, however, it comes to my knowledge that I am much 
censured for some supposed agency in setting up and seeking 
to sustain the new St.ate Government of Louisiana. In this I 
have done just so much and no more than the public knows. 
In the Annual Message of December, 1863, and the accompany- 
ing proclamation, I presented a plan of reconstruction, as the 
phrase goes, which I promised, if adopted by any State, would 
be acceptable to and sustained by the Executive Government of 
the nation. I distinctly stated that this was not the only plan 
which might, possibly, be acceptable ; and I also distinctly 
protested that the Executive claimed no right to say when or 
whether members should be admitted to seats in Congress from 
such States. This plan was, in advance, submitted to the then 
Cabinet, and aj^proved by every member of it. 

One of them suggested that I should then and in that connec- 
tion, apply the Emancipation Proclamation to the theretofore 
excepted parts of Virginia and Louisiana, that I should drop 
the suggestion about apprenticeship for freed people, and that 
I should omit the protest against my own pov.'er in regard to 
the admission of members of Congress. But even he approved 
every part and parcel of the plan which has since been em- 
ployed or touched by the action of Louisiana. The new con- 
stitution of Louisiana, declaring emancipation for the whole 
State, practically applies the proclamation to the part previously 
excepted. It does not adopt apprenticeship for freed people, and 
is silent, as it could not well be otherwise, about the admission 
of members to Congress. So that as it applied to Louisiana 
every member of the Cabinet fully approved the plan. The 
message went to Congress, and I received many commendations 
of the plan, written and verbal, and not a single objection to it, 
from any professed emancipationist, came to my knowledge un- 
til after the news reached Washington that the people of Louisi- 
ana had begun to move in accordance with it. From about 
July, 1862, I had corresponded with different persons supposed 
to be interested in seeking a reconstruction of a State Govern- 



THE martyr's monument. 285 

ment for Louisiana. When the Message of 1863, with the plan 
before mentioned, reached New-Orleans, General Banks wrote 
me that he was confident that the people, with his military co- 
operation, would reconstruct substantially on that plan. I 
wrote to him and some of them to try it. They tried it, and, 
the result is known. Such has been my only agency in getting 
up the Louisiana Government. As to sustaining it, my promise 
is out, as before stated. But as bad promises are better broken 
than kept, I shall treat this as a bad promise and break it when- 
ever I shall be convinced that keeping it is adverse to the pub- 
lic interest, but I have not yet been so convinced. 

I have been shown a letter on tliis subject, supposed to be an 
able one, in which the writer expresses regret that my mind has 
not seemed to be definitely fixed on the question, whether the 
seceded States, so called, are in the Union or out of it. It 
would, perhaps, add astonishment to his regret were he to 
learn that since I have found professed Union men endeavoring 
to answer that question I have purposely forborne any public 
expression upon it. As appears to me, that question has not 
been, nor yet is a practically material one, and that any discus- 
sion of it while it thus remains practically immaterial, could 
have no eflfect other than the mischievous one of dividing our 
friends. As yet, whatever it may become, that question is bad 
as the basis of a controversy, and good for nothing at all — a 
merely pernicious abstraction. We all agree that the seceded 
States, so called, are out of their proper practical relation with 
the Union, and that the sole object of the Government, civil and 
military, in regard to these States, is to again get them into their 
proper practical relation. I believe that it is not only possible^ 
but, in fact, easier, to do this without deciding, or even consid- 
ering, whether these States have ever been out of the Union, 
than with it. Finding themselves safely at home, it would be 
utterly immaterial whether they had been abroad. Let us all 
join in doing the acts necessary to restore the f)roper practical 
relations between those States and the nation, and each forever 
after innocently indulge his own opinion whether in doing the 
acts he brought the States from without into the Union, or only 
gave them proper assistance, they never having been out of it. 



286 



The amount of constituency, so to speak, on whicli the Louisiana 
Government rests, would be more satisfactory to all if it con- 
tained 50,000, or 30,000, or even 20,000, instead of 12,000, as it 
does. It is also unsatisfactory to some that the elective fran- 
chise is not given to the colored man. I would myself prefer 
that it were now conferred on the very intelligent, and on those 
who serve our cause as soldiers. Still the question is not 
whether the Louisiana Government, as it stands, is quite all 
that is desirable. The question is, will it be wiser to take it as 
it is, and help to improve it, or to reject and disperse ? Can 
Louisiana be brought into proper practical relation with the 
Union sooner by sustaining or by discarding her new State Gov- 
ernment ? Some twelve thousand voters in the heretofore slave 
State of Louisiana have sworn allegiance to the Union, assumed 
to be the rightful political power of the State, held elections, 
organized a State Government, adopted a Free State constitu- 
tion, giving the benefit of public schools eq^^ally to black and 
white, and empowering the Legislature to confer the elective 
franchise upon the colored man. This Legislature has already 
voted to ratify the constitutional amendment recently passed by 
Congress, abolishing slavery throughout the nation. These 
twelve thousand persons are thus fully committed to the Union 
and to perpetuate freedom in the State ; committed to the very 
things, and nearly all things, the nation wants, and they ask the 
nation's recognition and its assistance to make good this com- 
mittal. Now if we reject and spurn them we do our utmost to 
disorganize and disperse them. We in fact say to the white 
man, you are worthless or worse ; we will neither help you, nor 
be helped by you. To the blacks we say : This cup of liberty 
which these, your old masters, held to your lips, we will dash 
from you, and leave you to the chances of gathering the spilled 
and scattered contents in some vague and undefined when, where 
and how. If this course, discouraging and paralyzing both 
white and black, has any tendency to bring Louisiana into 
proper practical relations with the Union, I have so far been 
unable to perceive it. If, on the contrary, we recognize and 
sustain the new government of Louisiana, the converse of all 
this is made true. We encourage the hearts and nerve the arms 



THE martyr's monument. 287 

of 12,000 to adhere to their work, and argue for it, and proselyte 
for it, and fight for it, and feed it, and grow it, and ripen it to 
a complete success. The colored man, too, in seeing all united 
for him, is inspired with vigilance, and energy, and daring to 
the same end. Grant that he desires the elective franchise, will 
he not obtain it sooner by saving the already advanced steps 
toward it, than by running backward over them? Concede- 
that the new Government of Louisiana is to what it should be 
as the egg is to the fowl, we shall sooner have the fowl by hatch- 
ing the egg, than by smashing it. [Laughter.] Again, if we 
reject Louisiana we also reject one vote in favor of the proposed 
amendment to the national constitution. To meet this proposi- 
tion it has been argued that no more than three-fourths of those 
States which have not attempted secession are necessary to val- 
idly ratify the amendment. I do not commit myself against this 
further than to say that such a ratification would be questiona- 
ble, and sure to be persistently questioned, while a ratification 
by three-fourths of all the States would be unquestioned and 
unquestionable. I repeat the question. Can Louisiana be 
brought into proper practical relation with the Union sooner by 
sustaining, or by discarding her new State Government ? What 
has been said of Louisiana will apply to other States. And yet 
so great peculiarities pertain to each State, and such important 
and sudden changes occur in the same State, and withal so new 
and unprecedented is the whole case, that no exclusive and in- 
flexible plan can safely be prescribed as to details and collater- 
als. Such exclusive and inflexible plan would surely become a 
ne\7, entanglement. Important principles may and must be in- 
flexible. In the present situation, as the phrase goes, it may be 
my duty to make some new announcement to the people of the 
South. I am considering and shall not fail to act when satisfied 
that action will be proper. 

NO MORE " so-called" NEUTRALITY. 

The people of this country can never forget how, as 
soon as there appeared to be any chance of a severance 
and consequent destruction of the Republic, the Govern- 



288 THE martyr's monument. 

ment of Great Britain, followed by that of France, instead * 
of simply remaining neutral, and doing nothing to aid 
either the rebels or the Government, issued a proclama- 
tion of neutrality, the effect of which was to degrade a 
friendly nation, with whom those countries were on terms 
of equal intercourse, and to which they were bound by 
treaties recognizing its absolute sovereignty throughout 
its territory, to the level of a rebel power, of a few weeks' 
growth, which was endeavoring to destroy that sover- 
eignty and divide that territory. Galling as this was to 
the national pride — and no one felt it more so than Mr. 
Lincoln — he yet wisely bore it without such official 
manifestation of resentment as would have provoked 
measures that must have multiplied the difficulties of the 
Government, and increased the sufferings and sacrifices 
of the people. He saw that if the nation maintained 
itself, this effort against its prosperity and power would 
only recoil against those who made it ; and he so shaped 
the course of his Administration toward the great foreign 
powers that, without admitting the right or the propriety 
of their action, or sacrificing the dignity of the country, 
he could yet bend the warlike energies of the nation to 
one purpose, sure that if that were attained all else would 
be added to it. But, knowing how sensitive the people 
were upon this point, and being himself no less so than 
any of his countrymen, he, on the next day but one 
after the reception of the news of General Lee's surren- 
der, April 11th, issued the following proclamation, in 
which he announced to foreign powers that if they con- 
tinued any longer to place the national vessels of this 
Republic on the same footing with rebel cruisers, their own 
vessels would be reduced to the same level in our ports : 



THE martyr's monument. 289 



PROCLAMATION. 

Wliereas, for some time past, vessels of war of tlie United 
States have been refused, in certain ports, privileges and immu- 
nities to Tvhicli they were entitled by treaty, public law, or the 
comity of nations, at the same time that vessels of war of the 
country wherein the said privileges and immunities have been 
withheld, have enjoyed them fully and uninterruptedly in the 
ports of the United States, which condition of things has not 
always been forcibly resisted by the United States ; although, 
on the other hand, they have not failed to protest against and 
declare their dissatisfaction with the same. In the view of the 
United States, no condition any longer exists which can be 
claimed to justify the denial to them by any one of said nations 
of the customary naval rights, such as has heretofore been so 
unnecessarily persisted in ; now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincobi, 
President of the United States, do hereby make known that, if, 
after a reasonable time shall have elapsed for the intelligence of 
this proclamation to have reached any foreign country in whose 
ports the said privileges and immunities shall have been refused, 
as aforesaid', they shall continue to be so refused, then and thence- 
forth the same privileges and immunities shall be refused to the 
vessels of war of the country in the ports of the United States, 
and this refusal shall continue until tke war vessels of the United 
States shall have been placed upon an entire equality, in the 
foreign ports aforesaid, with similar vessels of other countries. 
The United States, whatever claim or pretence may have existed 
heretofore, are now at least entitled to claim and concede an 
entire and friendly equality of rights and hospitalities with all 
maritime nations. ^ 

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused 
the seal of the United States to be affixed. 

Done at the city of Washington, this eleventh day of April, 
in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred 

[l. s.] and sixty-five, and of the independence of the United 
States of America the eighty-ninth. 

Abraham Lincoln. 
By the President : 
Wm. H. Skwakd, Secretary of State. 

13 



290 THE maktyr's monument. 

RECEPTION OF THE BRITISH MINISTER. 

Three days after issuing the foregoing proclamation 
Mr. Lincoln was no more. No public act or speech 
of his marked the brief interval. But on the very eve 
of his violent death he wrote one paper which exhibited 
the candor, the wisdom, and the kindness of his soul in a 
notable manner, and which showed that the proclamation 
which was the last to which he signed his name was insti- 
gated by no petty spite, no desire to humiliate, no wish 
to provoke hostile feeling. Lord Lyons had resigned, 
and Sir Frederick Bruce had been sent to represent the 
British Government at Washington. He was about to 
present his credentials; his reception for the purpose 
of presenting his letters was to have taken place on 
Saturday, April 15th, and Mr. Lincoln, having received 
an intimation of what Sir Frederick would say on that 
occasion, wrote out on the afternoon of the 14th his pro- 
posed reply. He never made it. The British minister 
did not present his credentials until some days after Mr. 
Lincoln's death. The speech which the President made 
in reply impressed the whole country and Europe by 
its dignity, its good sense, its candor, and its generosity. 
There is the highest authority for saying that this speech 
is the one written by Mr. Lincoln, and that being found 
in his portfolio, it was wisely adopted, with its writer's 
policy, by Mr. Johnson, and read to the British minister 
by a Secretary. Thus Mr. Lincoln actually stretched out 
his hand from beyond the grave to guide the course of the 
Republic which he had done so much to save, and by his 
services to which he earned his crown of martyrdom. 
The reply in question here follows : 



THE martyr's monument. 291 

/ 

Sir Frederick A. W. Bruce— Sir ;— The cordial and friendly 
sentiments which you have expressed on the part of Her Britan- 
nic Majesty give me great pleasure. Great Britain and the United 
States, by the extended and varied forms of commerce between 
them, the contiguity of positions of their possessions, and the 
similarity of their language and laws, are drawn into contrast 
and intimate intercourse at the same time. They are from the 
same causes exposed to frequent occasions of misunderstanding, 
only to be averted by mutual forbearance. So eagerly are the 
people of the two countries engaged throughout almost the whole 
world in the pursuit of similar commercial enterprises, accom- 
panied by natural rivalries and jealousies, that at first sight it 
would almost seem that the two Governments must be enemies, 
or at best, cold and calculating friends. So devoted are the 
two nations throughout all their domain, and even in their most 
remote territorial and colonial possessions, to the jDrinciples of 
civil rights and constitutional liberty, that, on the other hand, 
the superficial observer might erroneously count upon a contin- 
ued concert of action and sympathy, amounting to an alliance 
between them. Each is charged with the development of the 
progress and liberty of a considerable portion of the human 
race. Each, in its sphere, is subject to difficulties and trials, 
not participated in by the other. The interest of civilization 
and of humanity require that the two should be friends. I have 
always known and accepted it as a fact, honorable to both coun- 
tries, that the Queen of England is a sincere and honest well- 
wisher to. the United States. I have been equally frank and 
ex|3licit in the opinion that the friendship of the United States 
toward Great Britain is enjoined by all the considerations 
of interest and of sentiment afiecting the character of both. 
You will therefore be accepted as a minister friendly and well- 
disposed to the maintenance of peace and the honor of both 
countries. You will find myself and all my associates acting in 
accordance with the same enlightened policy and consistent 
sentiments ; and so I am sure that it will not occur in your case 
that either yourself or this Government will ever have cause to 
regret that such an important relationship existed at such a 
crisis. V 



292 THE martyr's monument. 

A few hours after writing this brief speech, Abraham 
Lincoln received the bullet of his assassin, and never 
spoke again. His last act was an endeavor to soothe the 
resentment of his countrymen against a nation whose 
governing classes had seized a time of sore trial to treat 
this country with arrogant contempt, and to impress upon 
tliat nation the necessity of mutual respect and mutual 
forbearance if they desired the continuation of friendly 
relations between the two countries. The reader of the 
foregoing pages will already have thought that such wag 
a fitting close of Mr. Lincoln's career. We mourn him, 
but it is for ourselves we sorrow, not for him ; for he had 
fulfilled a great destiny and grandly absolved himself 
from his solemn duties. It was from a full and rounded 
life that the martyr to his country and to freedom was 
suddenly called away, leaving behind him the priceless 
memory of a Government conducted in the spirit of his 
own noble words, "With malice toward none, with char- 
ity to all, with firmness in the right as God shall give 
us to know the right." This land must indeed be looked 
upon as blessed above all others if we see soon again an- 
other President so wise, so just, so gentle, and so good. 



INDEX 



PAGE 

Abolition of Slavery, Proclamation Proposing 100 

Abolition of Slavery in District of Columbia, Message on 105 

Adams, Minister, Instructions to 53 

Advance, Order for Naval and Military 94 

Albany, Speech in the Assembly Hall at 23 

Aliens, Proclamation with regard to 180 

Aliens, Rights of 230 

Amnesty, Proclamation of 241 

Amnesty, Defining Proclamation of 258 

Arbitrary An'ests 96 

Arkansas, Reorganization in 250 

Army Orders 94, 95 

Blockade, Proclamation of 51 

Border States, Slavery in 119 

British Minister, Reply to 291 

>Buffalo, Speech at 21 

Call for 75,000 Men 50 

Cameron and Cummings Affair, Message about 113 

Canada Message 267 

Chicago, Address to Deputation on Emancipation from 133 

Christian Commission, Letter to Superintendent of 179 

Cincinnati, Speech at.. 16 

Clergy, Restraints upon 248 

Columbus, Speech at 17 

Constitution, Amendment of, Abolishing Slavery 275 

Confiscation 88 

Confiscation Bill, Message to Congress approving of 122 

Colonization 88 

" Address to Deputation of Negroes about 126 



294 INDEX. 

PAGE 

Cooper Institute, Speech at, April, 1860 3-9 

Curtis, General 226 

Deserters 193 

District of Columbia, Abolition in 105 

Emancipation, Letter to Fremont on 75 

" Address to Committee from Congress on 119 

" Address to Deputation from Chicago on 133 

" Preliminary Proclamation of. 136 

Emancipation, Compensated 158 

" Proclamation 175 

" Letter to Mr. Conkling about 212 

" in Border States 240 

Emigration 267 

Finances, Message to Congress on the 173 

Finance, Message, 1863-4 233 

" " 1864-5 268 

Foreign Eelations, Message, 1862 151 

Foreign Policy 53 

Foreign Ports, Proclamation regarding United States Vessels in. . 289 

Fort Pillow 254 

Fremont, on Emancipation Order, Letter to 75 

Fremont, General 226 

Gettysburg and Vicksburg, Speech at Washington about. 202" 

Gettysburg, Speech at Dedication of Cemetery at 220 

Grant, Gen., Letter of Acknowledgment on Capture of Yicksburg. 204 

Grant, Letter to New York Committee about 262 

Greeley, Horace, Letter to 131 

Great Issue, The 2 

Habeas Corpus, Proclamation suspending Writ of 140 

" " Proclamation with regard to 217 

Halleck, General 226 

Harrisburg, Speech at the Capitol in 34 

Heintzelman, Letter to General McCIellan about 109 

Hunter, Letter of Instructions to General 76 

" Declaration of Freedom 106 

" Proclamation disclaiming the Order of. 106 



INDEX. 295 

PAGF 

Illinois, Parting Speech at 13 

Inaugural Address, First 37 

" " Second 279 

Indianapolis, Speeches at 14 

Jackson, Goneral, Habeas Corpus 195 

Kentucky, Reply to Governor Magoffin, of 73 

" Letter to Mr, Hodges, on Slavery Policy 260 

Keyes, Letter to McClellan about 109 

London, Letter to Working Men of 179 

Manchester, England, Letter to "Working Men of 17*7 

Maryland, Mr. Seward's Reply to Governor of 53 

" Arbitrary Arrests in 96 

McClellan, Appointment of 91 

" Letter on the Plan of Campaign against Richmond to. . 95 

" Letter to 102 

" Letter urging an Advance 102 

" Letter referring to Reorganization of Army Corps. . . . 108 

" Reply about McDowell's Command to 110 

" Letter about McDowell joining Banks Ill 

" Dispatch about Defeat of Banks to 112 

" Letter about Fitz John Porter's Victory 112 

" Letters regarding Change of Base Ill, 118 

" Letter regarding the Number of effective Men in the 

Army 126 

" Letter about crossing the Potomac to 141 

" Dispatches referring to Horses and Advance on Richmond 144 

** Defence of, to the Citizens of "Washington 145 

McDoweU 103 

" Letter to McClellan about the Command of. 110 

McPheeters, Rev. Dr., Letter about 248 

Message to Congress, July 4, 1861 57 

Message to Congress, Regular Session, 1861-62 77 

Message proposing Gradual Abolition of Slavery 100 

Message on Abolition of Slavery in District of Columbia 105 

Message to Congress approving Confiscation Bill 122 

Message to Congress, Dec. 1, 1862 148 



296 INDEX. 

PAGE 

Message to Congress on the Finances 1'73 

Message to Congress, 1863-4 229 

Message to Congress, 1864-5 263 

Military Courts 85 

Missouri, Dispatch to Grovernor Gamble 182 

Missouri Delegation, Letter of Reply to Charles Drake 224 

Missouri, Letter of Instructions to General Schofield 222 

Morrill Tarriff 20 

National Loan 80 

Negroes in Rebel Armies 281 

Neutrality, No more 288 

Newark, Speech at 2=8 

New York, Speech at the Astor House 24 

New York, Reply of Mr. Lincoln to Mr. Fernando "Wood 21 

Nomination, Reply to Committee announcing 11 

Nomination to the Presidency, Acceptance of 12 

Peace, Message 278 

Philadelphia, Speech to the People of 31 

" Speech in Independence Hall 32 

Pittsburg, Speech at 19 

Pittsburg Landing, Thanksgiving for Victory of 104 

Prisoners of State, Executive Order about 9t 

Proclamation, Fall of Sumter 49 

" Blockade 51 

" AboUtion of Slavery 100, 136, 115 

" Aliens 180 

" Amnesty 244, 258 

" Foreign Ports, United States Vessels in 289 

" Habeas Corpus 140, 217 

" Hunter 106 

" Thanksgiving 104, 204, 218, 221 

Reconstruction 245 

Reinforcing Forts 59 

Reorganization, Speech after Fall of Richmond on 283 

Sanitary Commission, Address at "Washington Fair, for 252 

" " Speech at Baltimore Fair for 252 



INDEX. 297 

PAGi; 

Schofield, Letter of Instructions to General 1S?>, 222 

" Letter about relieving General 224 

Secession, Letter to North American Review on 249 

Seward, Reply to Governor of Maryland 53 

Seymour, Governor, and the Anti-Draft Riots 207 

Sherman's March, Message 274 

Slavery, Gradual Abolition of 100 

" Policy in regard to 260 

Steele, General, Letter about Reorganization in Arkansas to 250 

Steubenville, Speech at 18 

Sumner, General, Letter to McClellan about 109 

Sumter, Fort 58 

Sunday, Letter as to Observance of 146 

Taussig, Letter from Mr. James 184 

Thanksgiving Proclamation 104 

Thanksgiving Proclamation, Victories of Gettysburg and Yicksburg 204 

Thanksgiving Proclamation 218 

Thanksgiving for Victory at Chattanooga 221 

Trenton, Speech in the Senate Chamber at 28 

" Speech in the House of Assembly at 30 

(Jnconditional Emancipationists , 182 

Unconditional Union Men 212 

Utica, Address to the People of 23 

Vallandigham, Letter to Mr. Erastus Corning about 187 

" Letter to the Committee demanding the Recall of. . 197 
Virginia Convention, Reply to Committee of the 47 

"Washington, Speech to Mayor and Common Council on Arrival at. 36 

" Address to Citizens of 139 

Wood, Fernando, Address to Mr. Lincoln iu New York 26 

" " Letter with regard to Amnesty to 171 

Wool, General 103 

Workingmen's Association of New York, Reply to 255 

"World, Newspaper, of NewYork, defends Action of the Slave States 206 

" advisea its Readers to arm themselves 207 



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